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ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 



ONE OF JACKSON'S 
FOOT CAVALRY 

HIS EXPERIENCE AND WHA T HE SAW 
DURING THE WAR 1861-1865 

Including a History of *'F Company," Richmond, 

Va., 21st Regiment Virginia Infantry, 

Second Brigade, Jackson's Division, 

Second Corps, A. N. Va. 

BY 

JOHN H. WORSHAM 

An Old F., Richmond, Va. 




Nev^ York 
THE NEALE PUBLISHING COMPANY 

1912 



. 5 



Copyright, 1912, by 
The Neale Publishing Company 



(gC!.A:j:iOU8:^ 







Vol. 
Date 
Specs 



1^12 



i>-e 




1861 

lie carried a knarmack. rontainiiiK a jacket, white vest, dress sliirts. 
collar*, white Riove*. tonthbruth. undcrAhirtH. drawers, socks, soap, 
towels. heedlecaM-, with nee<lle«i. thrra«I and buttons; an oilcloth, blanket, 
extra »hoe», canteen, haver^a('k, and tin cup. 



Frontispiece. 



PREFACE 

In writing my experience and what I saw during the 
war as one of Jackson's '' foot cavah'y," it is not my in- 
tention to make a comparison of commands, but simply 
to state what was seen and experienced by me. When 
other commands are mentioned, it is done to give their 
position so that the reader may the better understand the 
situation; and when I have a word of praise for them, 
it is because they came under my eye. It is needless to 
make comparisons between different commands of the 
Army of Northern Virginia. The world never saw such 
courage, devotion, and patriotism as w^as displayed by 
the men of that army, and every man in it who did his 
duty was a hero. 

J. H. W. 

Richmond, Va., 
August, 191 2. 



CHAPTER 

I. 

11. 

III. 

IV. 

V. 

VI. 

VII. 

VIII. 

IX. 

X. 

XL 



XII. 
XIII. 
XIV. 

XV. 



XVI. 
XVII. 



XVIII. 

XIX. 

XX. 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Commencement of Hostilities, i86i .... 13 

Fredericksburg and Aquia Creek 17 

Camp Lee and Mustering into Service ... 29 
West Virginia — Election of President of 

Southern Confeder-\cy 39 

The Valley of Virginia 53 

Bath and Romney 57 

Winchester Evacuated, 1862 64 

Kernstown 66 

Retreat from Kernstown 71 

McDowell ^^ 

The Valley Campaign — Front Royal — Mid- 
dletown, Winchester, Cross Keys — Port Re- 
public 82 

The Seven Days Campaign 97 

Cedar Run 108 

Second Manassas 118 

M.\ryland Campaign, Harper's Ferry — Sharps- 
burg 136 

Fredericksburg 149 

Winter Quarters, 1862-3 — Picket Duty — 
Getting the Mail, Medicines — Recruiting a 

New Company 155 

Lieutenant General Jackson 164 

WiLLIAMSPORT 167 

Camp Montpelier, The Great Religious Revival, 
Review of Second Corps, The Advance 
Against Meade 176 



CHAPTER 

XXI. 
XXII. 



XXIII. 

XXIV. 

XXV. 

XXVI. 

XXVII. 

XXVIII. 

XXIX. 



XXX. 
XXXI. 

XXXII. 



XXXIII. 



XXXIV. 

XXXV 

XXXVI. 

XXXVII. 

XXXVIII. 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Payne's Farm and Mine Run 187 

Winter 1863-4. Camp Near Mt. Pisgah Church, 
Execution of Three Confederate Soldiers, 

Rations, The Negro Cooks 191 

The Wilderness 200 

Spottsvlvania C. H 208 

tlANovER Junction, Bethesda Church, Cold 

Harbor 222 

Lynchburg 227 

MoNocACY 235 

Washington, D. C 241 

Kernstown Second and the Enemy's Cavalry 

AT Leetown 245 

Winchester — What Brought on the Battle . 256 
Returns of Second Army Corps, Aug. 31, 1864 . 269 
Cedar Creek — Winter, 1864-5, Second Corps Goes 
TO Petersburg, The B.\ttle of Hatcher's Run, 
Fort Steadman, The Flag of the 2Ist Va. Regt. 275 
The Evacuation of Richmond and Lee's Sur- 
render — The Arrival of the First Yankees 

IN Richmond 285 

Returning Home 292 

The Women of the South 295 

General Lee 299 

Record of F Company, Roster, Killed, Wounded, 

&c.. Battles, Who Surrendered at Appomattox 301 
Conclusion 340 



ILLUSTRATIONS 

1861 Frontispiece' 

Captain R. Milton Cary Facing page 26 

1862 76 

Captain Richard H. Cunningham, Jr 108 

Captain William H. Morgan 116 

Captain William A. Pegram 168 

1863 174 

1864 228 

Captain Reuben J. Jordan 280 

1865 342 



I 

COMMENCEMENT OF HOSTILITIES 1861 

Soon after the investment of Fort Sumpter, S. C, De- 
cember 20th, i860, a military spirit prevailed all over 
Virginia. All the old volunteer companies were filled at 
once, and new ones were organized, and when the State 
seceded, a large portion of the men had joined some of 
the military organizations. I joined an old volunteer 
company. It was known as " F Company " of Rich- 
mond; one of the crack companies of that day. In its 
ranks were some of the best men of the city. It num- 
bered about eighty men. New members were added so 
rapidly that it soon numbered about one hundred and 
fifty. 

This company had a fine cadet gray uniform, consist- 
ing of a frock coat, which had a row of Virginia fire-gilt 
buttons on its front ; around the cuff of the sleeve, a band 
of gold braid and two small fire-gilt buttons ; on the collar 
the same gold braid so arranged that it looked very much 
like the mark of rank for a first lieutenant, which was 
afterwards adopted by the Confederacy. The pants had 
a black stripe about one and a quarter inches wide along 
the outer seams. The cap was made of the same cadet 
gray cloth, trimmed with black braid, and two small fire- 
gilt buttons, and on its front the letter F. The non-com- 
missioned officers had their mark of rank worked on the 
sleeves of their coats with black braid. The difference 
between the uniforms of the officers and the privates 
was in these particulars : the officers' coats were a little 
longer and their sleeves were highly ornamented with 



14 ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

.c^old braid, somctliinc: like that of the Confederate uni- 
form : they had gold braid down the outer seams of their 
pants, and their caps were trimmed with gold braid. 
I^ach sergeant carried, besides his gun, a sword attached 
to his belt. When on duty every man w-as required to 
wear white gloves. He carried in his knapsack a jacket 
made of cadet gray cloth. We had black cloth overcoats, 
the skirt reaching a little below the knee, the capes a little 
below the elbow, and the buttons were Virginia fire-gilt. 

Our knapsacks were a specialty; they were imported 
from Paris, made of calfskin tanned with hair on, the 
color being red and white, the skin was fitted around a 
box frame. Inside they were divided into partitions; 
and outside, there were openings into some of these so 
that one could handle articles inside of them without 
opening the whole knapsack, and there were straps on the 
outside for blanket, overcoat, oilcloth and shoes, and 
other straps and some hooks handy for attaching any ar- 
ticle we wished to carry. We also imported our can- 
teens. 

For a week or two before the State seceded, the com- 
panies in Richmond were drilling men nearly all the time; 
a squad of green men at one hour, another squad at the 
next, so on throughout the entire day; and at night a 
company drill. Each man was required to report at com- 
pany headquarters once during the day. The tolling of 
the fire bells was the signal to meet at the companies' 
arnK)ries, prepared to go wherever ordered. 

I was quietly walking home from church, after the 
morning service on Sunday, April 2t, i86i, when the 
bells commenced to toll. I broke into a run at once, go- 
ing home as fast as I could. I i)ut on my uniform, etc., 
and was soon at our armorv. Here it was rumored that 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 15 

the gunboat Pawnee was coming up James River, with 
the intention of capturing or bombarding the city. As 
soon as all the men reported, the company was formed 
and marched to Wilton on James River, about ten miles 
below the city. Passing Rocketts, the port of Richmond, 
we found the citizens assembled there by thousands ; old 
men, boys, women, girls, women with babies in their 
arms, in fact nearly the whole population. The fields 
in Rocketts, as well as the wharves, were literally alive 
with human beings, commingled with horses and vehicles, 
as some had ridden down in buggies and carriages. Some 
had shotguns, some had rifles, some pistols, some swords, 
some canes, and some had made large piles of stones on 
the wharves, to use against the enemy. They were all 
determined that the ship should never get to the wharf. 
It makes me laugh now, after my experience of war, to 
think what the citizens were then doing ! 

We arrived at Wilton about sunset, where we were 
joined by the Richmond Howitzers. A picket from F 
Company was established along the river. The Howit- 
zers' guns were placed in position. Orders were given to 
fire on the Pazvnee as soon as she came within shooting 
distance. The men of F Company, not on duty, stacked 
arms, and were ordered to remain near them during the 
night. We had nothing to eat, and did not know when or 
where we would get anything. One of our officers, how^- 
ever, had remained behind, and about eight or nine o'clock 
that night came up with a wagon loaded with cooked 
ham, bread, etc., and we had a jolly time over our sup- 
per, the first of the war. After eating, the men gathered 
about in squads talking ; finally lying dow^n on the grassy 
ground and going to sleep ; the first experience of the 
war, and that without either blanket or oilcloth. The 



i6 ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

night passed without incident; the expected Pawnee did 
not co;iie. The next day we returned to Richmond on 
two barges, that were sent down the river for us. We 
won a great deal of glory in this campaign, as everyone 
thought we had done wonders. In marching from Rock- 
etts up Main Street to our quarters, which were between 
Eighth and Ninth Streets, we had an ovation nearly all 
the wav. Thus closed the '' Pawnee War." 



II 

FREDERICKSBURG AND AQUIA CREEK 

Virginia was thoroughly aroused. Soldiers were 
coming into Richmond from all directions, the streets 
were filled with marching men, and the sound of the drum 
was heard every hour of the day and night. It will show 
the enthusiasm of the people of the State when it is said 
that four w^eks after Virginia seceded, eighty thousand 
organized soldiers had offered their services in defense 
of the cause ! 

On the morning of Wednesday, April 24, 1861, several 
telegrams were received in Richmond announcing that 
the enemy were landing at Aquia Creek, the terminus of 
the Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac R. R. Our 
company and the Richmond Light Infantry Blues 
were ordered at once to that place. We marched to the 
R. F. & P. R. R. depot, then on Broad Street, corner 
of Eighth Street, where we embarked on cars for the seat 
of war, Aquia Creek. On reaching Fredericksburg, we 
were informed that the Yankees had made a demonstra- 
tion at Aquia Creek, but did not land; and we received 
orders to stop there. F Company debarked, and marched 
to the courthouse and camped for the night. A load of 
straw was sent us, which we spread on the floor and 
benches, making a very good bed ; and citizens invited 
us to their homes to supper. We went to bed that night 
in regular military order, had a camp guard, lights out 
by taps, etc. Some of the boys, during the day, had pur- 
chased whistles, tin horns, and other noisy things, and as 

17 



i8 ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

soDn as lights were put out, the fun commenced : One 
blew a horn, another in a distant part of the building 
answered on a whistle. This went on for a few minutes. 
When the officers commanded silence, no attention was 
paid to them. When the officers said to the sergeant, 
" Arrest those men," the sergeant would strike a light, 
and go where he thought the noise originated ; but each 
man looked so innocent that he could not tell who it was. 
By this time, another w-ould blow. Soon there were 
four sergeants, running here and there, trying to catch 
the delinquents. This was kept up until the perpetrators 
became tired, not one being detected. 

In the morning we were supplied with breakfast by the 
citizens. Wq remained in the town, living in this manner 
several days. Then we marched to the Fair Grounds, 
where we found that the Blues had preceded us. Here 
we went regularly into camp, which was called Camp 
Mercer. Our company was assigned to the sheds of 
the horse department, the floors were covered with straw, 
ancl three men were assigned to a stall. 

Camp duty began at once, guard mounting, policing, 
drills, etc., and dress parade every fair evening, most of 
the young ladies of the town coming out to witness it; 
and they seemed to enjoy it as much as we did their pres- 
ence. The men formed messes, each consisting of about 
ten men, each employing a negro man as cook, and we got 
on nicely, as we thought. The regular rations were is- 
sued to us, but in order to become accustomed by degrees 
to eating them, we sent the cook or some member of the 
mess into town, to get such articles as the market af- 
forded. 

The following are the names of the members of F 
Company, who went to l^'redcricksburg: 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 19 



Captain, R. Milton Cary. 
First Lieut. — (Did not go.) 
Second Lieut., Richard H. 

Cunningham. 
Jr. Second Lieut., Phillip A. 

Welford. 
First Sergeant, Edward 

Mayo. 
Second Sergeant, Henry T. 

Miller. 



Third Sergeant, John A. 

Pizzini. 
Fourth Sergeant, Edward 

G. Rawlings. 
First Corporal, John Tyler. 
Second Corporal, Thomas 

Ellett. 
Third Corporal — (Did not 

go-) 
Fourth Corporal — Shirley 

King. 



Privates 



Anderson, Archer. 
Anderson, Junius H. 
Anderson, Flenry V. 
Archer, William S. 
Ayers, Edward W. 
Barker, William C. 
Baughman, Charles C. 
Baughman, George C. 
Baughman, Greer H. 
Beers, Henry H. 
Binford, James M. 
Binford, Robert E. 
Blunt, Ira W. 
Bridges, Jr., David B. 
Bridges, Richard M. 
Broch, R. Alonzo. 
Bullington, Henry N. 
Cabell, J. Caskie. 
Child, Jesse. 

Chamberlain, J. Hampden. 
Chapman, Isaac W. 
Clarke, Maxwell T. 
Clopton, Dr. John. 



Cocke, Lorenzo G. 
Cole, Addison C. 
Cowardin, John L. 
Craig, John A. 
Danforth, Henry D. 
Dill, Jr., Adolph. 
Doggett, Francis W. 
Ellerson, Jock H. 
Ellett, Robert. 
Etting, Samuel M. 
Exall, Charles H. 
Exall, William. 
Field, William G. 
Fontaine, R. Morris. 
Gentry, John W. 
Gibson, William T. 
Gilliam, Robert H. 
Gray, W. Granville. 
Gray, Somerville. 
Green, John W. 
Green, Thomas R. 
Harrison, Thomas R. 
Harvie, William O. 



20 ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 



Haynes, George A. 
Henry, Dr. Patrick. 
Hobson, Deane. 
Iludgins, Malcolm L. 
Hull, Irving. 
Jenkins. William S. 
Jones, David B. 
Jones, Jr., Phillip B. 
Jordan, Reuben J. 
Kellogg, Timothy H. 
Lindsay, Roswell S. 

Lorcntz, . 

Macmurdo, Richard C. 
Maddox, R. G. 
Mayo, Joseph E. 
McEvoy, Charles A. 
Meade, Everard B. 
Mebane, J. A. 
Meredith, J. French. 
Mitchell, Samuel D. 
Mittledorfer, Charles. 
Morris, Walter H. P. 
Mountcastle, John R. 
Norwood, Jr., William. 
Nunnally, Joseph N. 
Pace, George R. 
Pace, Theodore A. 
Page, Mann. 
Pardigon, C. F. 
Payne, James B. 
Pcaster. Henry. 
Pegram, William A. 
Pegram, William R. J. 
Peterkin, George W. 
Picot, Henry V. 
Piet. William A. 



Pollard, William G. 
Powell, John G. 
Powell, John W. 
Price, Channing R. 
Randolph, J. Tucker. 
Randolph, M. Lewis. 
Redd, Clarence M. 
Reeve, David I. B. 
Reeve, John J. 
Rennic, G. Hutcheson. 
Rison, John W. 
Robertson, William S. 
Robinson, Christopher A. 
Robinson, Richard F. 
Singleton, A. Jackson. 
Sizer, Milton D. 
Skinker, Charles R. 
Smith, Edward FI. 
Sublett. Peter A. 
Tabb, Robert M. 
Talley, Daniel D. 
Tatum, A. Randolph. 
Tatum, Vivian H. 
Taylor, Charles E. 
Taylor, Clarence E. 
Taylor, Edward B. 
Taylor, Robert T. 
Tompkins, Edmond G. 
Tyler, James E. 
Tyler, R. Emmett. 
\'an Buren, Benjamin B. 
Waldrop, Richard W. 
Watkins, A. Salle. 
Watkins, Harrison H. 
White, Rol>ert C. 
Willis, Josci)h N. 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 21 

Worsham, John H. Surgeon, Frank B. Cun- 

Worsham, Thomas R. ningham. 

Wren, J. Porter. Assistant Surgeon, Peter 

Wright, PhiUip B. Lyon. 

Zimmer, Lewis. 

A few of these men joined us after we went to Fred- 
ericksburg, and some left us to join other commands, 
after staying with us two or three weeks. Samuel F. 
Pilcher was left in Richmond to drill men for a second 
company, and on account of sickness never came to the 
command. 

While in Camp Mercer we were joined by a company 
of infantry, one of cavalry, and the Purcell Battery of 
Artillery from Richmond. W. R. J. Pegram of F Com- 
pany (Specks, as he was called) helped Captain Lindsay 
Walker to drill this battery, and was soon made a lieu- 
tenant ; this is the same W. R. J. Pegram of the artillery, 
who was soon known in the army of Northern Virginia 
as the fighting captain, major, lieutenant colonel, and 
colonel, and was killed at Five Forks in 1865. 

I saw the first man of the war punished for disobedi- 
ence of orders, while w^e were in this camp; he was a mem- 
ber of W^alker's battery, and was strapped on one of the 
wheels of a cannon in such a manner as to keep him from 
moving. This punishment is known as " strapping to 
the wheel." We were treated most hospitably by the 
citizens of Fredericksburg, some of us visiting the city 
each day ; and were always welcomed and invited to 
meals, and we left with sad hearts. This was the most 
comfortable camp we had during the war, but at that time 
we thought it was execrable. 

We stayed at Fredericksburg about three weeks, and 



22 ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

were ordered to Aqiiia Creek. We camped in a house 
at Game Point, situated on a high hill to the left of the 
Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac R. R., and about 
three-quarters of a mile from Aquia Creek. The R. L. 
I. Blues also went to Aquia Creek and camped lower 
down the river, about one and a half miles from us. 

The cook of my mess would not leave Fredericksburg, 
and at Game Point we determined to cook for ourselves. 
1 will never forget the first meal. We made a fire under 
the shade of a tree, made up our bread of meal (the 
government commenced to give it to us thus early), 
sliced our fat meat, and commenced to cook, and in about 
two minutes both meat and bread were burned black on 
one side! We took them off the fire, cooled them, and 
tried again, and succeeded very well in burning the other 
side. We finally cooked everything we had and sat down 
on the ground to eat. The bread had no salt in it, no 
one had thought of that; the meat was so salt we could 
not eat it. We were disgusted, but the next day we had 
better success, and in a few days we got along all right. 

We had a camp guard and two picket posts or rather 
lookout posts, as the duties at each was to watch the river 
for the enemy. While I was on guard at our (juartcrs, 
one night General Ruggles, the commanding officer of 
this department, paid us a visit. I presented arms as 
soon as I saw him, and turned out the guard, thinking 
to do him all the honor we could. I was horrified when 
a non-commissioned ofiicer slipped up to me and told me 
such honor was not done after dark. 

PR.WER IN CAMP 

The following letter was written while we were in this 
camp and explains itself: 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 27, 



George W. Peterkin, Esq,: 

Dear Sir — We, the undersigned comrades in arms with 
yourself, have been struck with the propriety of evening 
prayer, and desire, if agreeable to you, that you, from this 
time, and so long as we may remain together, conduct that 
service. 

Respectfully, 



J. M. Binford, 
R. E. Binford, 
John W. Powell, 
J. P. Wren, 
R. T. Taylor, 

C. R. Skinker, 
Jesse Child, 
William Exall, 
J. A. Mebane, 

D. D. Talley, 
R. M. Bridges, 
John Tyler, 

D. J. Burr Reeve, 

John J. Reeve, 

R. E. Tyler. 

Joseph N. Nunnally, 

C. M. Redd, 

H. D. Danforth, 

W. Granville Gray, 

George A. Haynes, 

G. R. Pace, 

John R. Macmurdo, 

S. D. Mitchell, 

John H. Chamberlayne, 

Robert Ellett, 

R. C. White. 

Shirley King, 



A. C. Cole, 
H. H. Watkins, 
Dean Hobson, 
R. S. Lindsay, 
W. S. Archer, 
Thomas Ellett, 
J. H. Ellerson, 
J. W. Chapman, 
William A. Piet, 

C. H. Exall, 
A. R. Tatum, 
S. M. Etting, 
John A. Pizzini, 
Edward Mayo, 
E. G. Tompkins, 
Louis Zimmer, 

D. B. Jones, 
H. H. Beers, 
R. Milton Gary, 
P. A. Wellford, 
H. N. Bullington, 

E. H. Smith, 
William C. Barker, 
M. H. Clarke, 

E. G. Rawlings, 
E. W. Ayres, 
and others. 



24 ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

This gallant young soldier and truly good man con- 
ducted the service each night, and by his Christian exam- 
ple won the respect and affection of every member of 
the company; and when he left us in 1862, to take a staff 
appointment, it was like breaking up a household. 

This is the same George W. Peterkin who has for a 
number of years been the honored and respected Bishop 
of West Virginia. 

On May 29th, 1861, we had our first exi)erience of 
war. One of the enemy's gunboats stopped off Aquia 
Creek, fired a few shots and left. On June 7, three gun- 
boats made their appearance and commenced to bom- 
bard the earthworks near the wharf. Capt. Walker put 
some of his small three-inch rille cannon into the works, 
and replied, the enemy throwing six, eight, and ten inch 
shots at W^alkcr. This firing lasted several hours, when 
the enemy withdrew about two or three miles down the 
river, staying all night, and renewing the attack the next 
morning with five gunboats ; keeping the fire up until 
about 5 p. M., when they withdrew. The R. L. I. Blues 
and F Company were stationed, during the firing, be- 
hind some hills in the rear of the works, and nearly all 
the shots of the enemy passed over us. The family liv- 
ing inside the earthworks had a chicken coop knocked to 
pieces. The old cock confined in it came out of the ruins, 
mounted the debris, flapped his wings and crowed. That 
was the only casualty on our side. Capt. Walker's shots 
struck the vessels several times, and as they were wooden 
boats, he must have damaged them some. We after- 
wards heard that one of them was the notable Pawnee. 
We had several alarms at night, when the entire com- 
pany wouUl turn out, and march to the river to the place 
designated. On one of these occasions, we marched in 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 25 

rain which poured down in torrents. The darkness was 
illumined by most vivid flashes of lightning, and great 
peals of thunder intensified the storm. We stayed out all 
night, putting a picket along the river, two men on a 
post. We crossed Aquia Creek twice during alarms, 
one time staying all night on the point. 

We were joined by a regiment from Arkansas, and 
one from Tennessee and several companies from Vir- 
ginia. The hills around Aquia were fortified by earth- 
works, and large naval guns were placed in them. Our 
company turned out one night and pulled one of those 
large guns up one of the steepest hills to its position, after 
a failure on the part of a large team of horses and oxen ! 
It was demonstrated very forcibly that men are the best 
and quickest force for handling large and heavy guns 
like those. 

We drilled every good day and took our first lessons 
in skirmish drill, and the bayonet exercise, or the Zouave 
drill; and before we left, we became very well drilled in 
each. We enjoyed ourselves very much notwithstanding 
the duties, fishing on the wharf, bathing in the river, tak- 
ing rambles through the woods, having on one of the hills 
in the neighborhood a fine and extensive view of the 
Potomac. 

On June the 14th, F Company was ordered to Rich- 
mond to join a regiment that was being formed there. 
The men were told it was to be a crack regiment ; our own 
and a Maryland company commanded by Capt. J. Lyle 
Clarke, then in Camp Lee, were to be the nucleus, the 
other companies to be of the same standing. No time 
was designated for the formation of the regiment, and 
when formed it would be an independent one. With 
those inducements the men readily consented to the ar- 



26 OXE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

rani::emcnt, and therefore the order to go to Richmond. 

The following changes took place in officers and non- 
commissioned officers, while we were at Fredericksburg 
and Aquia Creek. 

First Lieut. James R. Crenshaw and Corporal Edward 
T. Robinson did not accompany us, and soon after we 
got to Fredericksburg Capt. Cary was made a Colonel ; 
those vacancies were filled by promotions as follows : 

Captain, Richard H. Cunningham. 

First Lieut., Edward Mayo. 

Second Lieut., Phillip A. Wei ford. 

Jr. Second Lieut., Henry T. Miller. 

h'irst Sergeant, John A. Pizzini. 

Second Sergeant, Edward G. Rawlings. 

1'hird Sergeant, John Tyler. 

Fourth Sergeant, Thomas Ellett. 

First Corporal, M. Louis Randolph. 

Second Corporal, Jesse Child. 

Third Corporal, J. Tucker Randolph. 

I'ourth Corporal, Shirley King. 

iMrst Corporal, M. Louis Randolph resigned June 4, 
1861. 

Jesse Child was made First Corporal June 5. 

J. Tucker Randolph was made Second Corporal June 

5- 

Shirley King was made Third Corporal June 5. 

rieorge R. Pace was made Fourth Cori)i)ral June 5. 

I'" Company gave up Capt. Cary with much reluctance. 
He was the organizer of F Company, a fine soldier, strict 
disciplinarian, and splendid drill master. They tell this 
on him to show his promptness: At the time of the 
John Brown raid, Gov. Wise one night sent for him, told 
him he wanted his c()m])any to go to Harper's I'^Try at 




FIRST CAPTAIN R. MILTON GARY 



Ofl^ositc page 2G. 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 27 

once, and asked him, " How many men can you carry, 
and how soon can vou meet me at the R. F. & P. R. R. 
depot? " Capt. Cary replied, " Sixty men in sixty min- 
utes." The old governor, much pleased with the answer, 
told him to report within two hours. 

When F Company left Richmond for Fredericksburg, 
each man carried his equipment of gun, etc., a knapsack, 
canteen, tin cup, and haversack ; most of them wore linen 
gaiters and havelocks, the latter being a head covering, 
a protection from the sun. Many wore around their 
waists, next to their skin, a flannel belt or worsted string, 
to prevent bowel complaint (?). In our knapsacks we 
carried a fatigue jacket, several pairs of white gloves, 
several pairs of drawers, several white shirts, under- 
shirts, linen collars, neckties, white vest, socks, etc., filling 
our knapsack to overflowing. Strapped on the outside 
were one or two blankets, an oilcloth, and extra shoes. 
Most of the knapsacks weighed between thirty and forty 
pounds, but some were so full that they weighed fifty 
pounds ! 

The best article carried by the soldiers was a needle 
case, as it was called, containing needles of various sizes, 
thread, buttons, etc. It soon became the most valuable 
of our possessions, and when we went into camp we 
would see the men occupied in sewing or patching their 
clothing, and towards the last of the war, it was in almost 
constant use. Notwithstanding this, it was hard to keep 
the ragged clothing from showing a portion of the skin 
of its wearer. 

Every man carried a Bible, given with her blessing by 
mother or sweetheart, and I suppose every man in the 
Confederate army carried one. This Bible was read as 
a book never was before. I read mine through the first 



28 ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

year. They were a blessing to many, and life savers, too, 
as I heard of and saw many lives saved by bullets strik- 
ing the Bible, carried in the breast pocket. 



Ill 

CAMP LEE AND MUSTERED INTO SERVICE 

On our arrival at Camp Lee, we were given tents, 
which we put up in regular military style near the center 
of the grounds, and commenced a regular camp life; 
drilling, guard mounting each morning, policing, inspec- 
tions, and evening dress parade. The latter was wit- 
nessed daily by quite a number of our lady friends from 
Richmond. 

We were mustered into service for one year on June 
28, 1 86 1 (to date from April 21), on the Capitol Square 
by Inspector General J. B. Baldwin. Each boy under 21, 
and there were many, brought a written permit from 
parent or guardian, and this was approved by the Gover- 
nor of Virginia before he was mustered in. 

I cannot give a copy of that muster roll, as it cannot 
be found, but give that of the 30th, only two days later, 
which is practically the same. 

" Muster Roll of Captain Richard H. Cunningham, 
Jr.'s Company F of Light Infantry from the City of 
Richmond, known as ' F Company,' constituting part 
of the Force of Virginia Volunteers, called into the Serv- 
ice of the State by the Governor, under on Ordinance 
of the State Convention adopted April 17, 1861. En- 
rolled for Active Service at Richmond, on the 21st of 
April, 1861 ; Mustered into Service at Richmond on the 
28th day of June, 1861, for one year from the 21st day 
of April, 1861, unless sooner discharged." 

29 



30 OXE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 



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I certify on honor, that tliis " Muster Roll '' exhibits the 
true state of the company therein described, for the period 
mentioned ; tliat the *' Remarks " set opposite the name of 
each officer and soldier are accurate and just. 

(Signed) R. H. Cunxixgiiam. Jr., 

Commanding the Company. 

I certify on honor, that I have at the Camp of Instruction 
on this 30th day of June, 1861, carefully examined this Roll 
and that I have mustered the company. 

(Signed) William Gilham, 

Col. and Mustering Officer. 
Date, June 30, 1861. 
Location, Camp of Instruction. 

While in Camp Lee, some of the company visited the 
city daily, some with passes, others *' ran the blockade " 
on their uniform. As before stated, our uniforms gave 
the impression of a first lieutenant, and when we wanted 
to go to the city and could not get a pass, we would 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 35 

march boldly by a sentinel on duty at some of the many 
openings around the grounds, give him the salute, and 
he would present arms as we passed out. So many of 
our company went to the city in this w^ay, that orders 
were finally issued that every one leaving the grounds 
should go out of the gate; and as some officer was al- 
ways stationed there, wt were afraid to try it too often. 

I cannot help telling of a good thing I heard from an 
officer. One night I was particularly anxious to go to 
the city, and no one was allowed to go out at night, un- 
less he had the countersign. This was only given to those 
on duty, and in consequence none of us could go out at 
night. As night approached, I walked to the guard 
quarters at the gate, and took a seat among some of my 
company who were on duty, hoping something would 
turn up, and let me into the secret. I was there some 
time, but no one would talk about it, and as it was getting 
dark, I had about made up my mind to leave, and try 
to dodge the sentinel by walking out, hoping he would 
think me one of the guards. The captain of the guard 
now made his appearance, and called by name the non- 
commissioned officer who was on duty, and said, " The 
countersign to-night is ' Richmond,' and the password, 
' Chickahominy.' " I was so overjoyed that I came near 
letting the officer know that I was not one of the guard. 
As soon as he walked away I quietly left, went to our 
quarters, told many of the company, and they left for 
the city. About half of the company did the same. 

Our company was called on suddenly about sunset, on 
Monday, July i, to " fall in," and we marched, at a dou- 
ble quick, through rain and mud to the Penitentiary. 
Here we found the weaving department on fire, and 
much excitement; our company was put on guard duty. 



36 ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

After remaining several hours, the fire having been put 
out and quiet restored, we were again ordered to " fall 
in," and marclied to the corner of Fifth and Franklin 
Streets in the city and were dismissed, being allowed to 
go to our homes for the remainder of the night. We 
were given orders to assemble at the same point next 
morning at lo o'clock, when we marched back to Camp 
Lee. 

Quite a stir was created in camp one day by the an- 
nouncement that a flag would be presented to Company 
B. This was a very handsome silk flag, was made by 
the ladies of Baltimore and '' ran the blockade " into 
Richmond, and was presented to the company by Presi- 
dent Davis. He made one of his brilliant speeches in 
the presence of the regiment, and a large number of vis- 
itors from Richmond, most of whom were ladies. The 
occasion passed off with great enthusiasm. 

About two weeks after reaching Camp Lee, the 21st 
Regiment of Virginia Infantry was formed, including 
the Maryland company, two or three others, and F Com- 
pany. The following officers were appointed : 

William Gilham, Colonel, from the Va. Military In- 
stitute. 

John M. Patton, Lt. Colonel, from Richmond. 

Scott Shipp, Major, from the Va. Military Institute. 

Wilham H. Morgan, Adjutant, from the Va. Military 
Institute. 

Dr. Robert L. Coleman, Surgeon, from Richmond. 

Dr. R. Lewis, Assistant Surgeon, from Richmond. 

H. E. C. Baskerville, Commissary, from Richmond. 

Virginus Dabney, Sergeant Major. 

Timothy H. Kellogg, Commissary Sergeant, from 
Richmond. 



ONE OF JACKSON^S FOOT CAVALRY 37 

In a few days an order was sent to these officers to 
complete the regiment at once from such companies as 
were then in camp, and be ready to move as soon as pos- 
sible ; as troops were very much needed in the field. This 
order was complied with, and the regiment was com- 
pleted. The following is a list of companies and their 
captains, in alphabetical order, as I am unable to give 
them in the order of their rank : 

Company " B " of Baltimore, Maryland, Captain J. 
Lyle Clarke. 

Brunswick Grays, Brunswick Co., Captain Robert- 
son. 

Buckingham Leitches, Buckingham Co., Captain James 
Leitch. 

Chalk Level Grays, Pittsylvania Co., Captain 

Mustain. 

Cumberland Grays, Cumberland Co., Captain Francis 
D. Irving. 

" F " Company, Richmond, Captain Richard H. Cun- 
ningham, Jr. 

Meherrin Grays, Mecklenberg Co., Captain William 
R. Berkeley. 

Oliver Grays, Buckingham Co., Captain John Oliver. 

Red House Volunteers, Charlotte Co., Captain John 
B. Moseley. 

Turkey Cock Grays, Pittsylvania Co., Captain William 
A. Witcher. 

The regiment numbered about eight hundred and fifty, 
rank and file. We were soon ready, and reported to the 
authorities. Our company now equipped itself with 
everything that could be gotten to make us comfortable. 
As we had been in the field several weeks and knew the 
necessities, had marched, slept without protection, done 



38 ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

picket duty, been in one engagement; we thought our- 
selves veterans, and as such, were going to take along 
with us everything the authorities would allow. Each 
mess purchased a nice chest. As our own was a fair 
specimen, 1 will try to describe it and its contents. 
The chest was made of oak, and was about three 
feet long, eighteen inches deep and wide. In it were 
several trays ; it was strapped securely with iron, at 
each end were iron handles, and its top was secured 
by substantial iron hinges and a strong lock. We 
had in it a dozen knives and forks, two or three 
butcher knives, a dozen teacups and saucers, a dozen 
plates, several dishes and bowls, a sugar dish and cream 
pitcher, salt and pepper boxes, a tin box, containing a 
dozen assorted boxes of spices, a dozen glasses, a sifter, 
rolling pin, coffee tin, etc. ; besides these, we carried out- 
side a frying pan, coffee pot, camp kettle, teapot, bread 
oven that afterwards played such a prominent part in the 
army as the *' spider," two water buckets, ax, etc. 

The regiment got orders to be ready to take the cars 
at the Central De|X)t on the iSth of July, 1861, for 
Staunton. Promptly on that morning we marched out 
of Canij) Lee into Broad Street, where we wheeled into 
platoons, 1^' Company in front, and marched to the depot. 
Our friends turned out by thousands and the march was 
made amidst the inspiring cheers of the multitude that 
bade us good-by. The day was terribly hot, and many 
of the men fell out of rank during the march, overcome 
by the heat. 

In addition to the usual arms of an infantryman, each 
man carried a l(jng bowie knife, and a pistol at his belt. 



IV 



WEST VIRGINIA 

We left Richmond about ii a. m. on the i8th of 
July, 1 86 1, for Staunton, which place we reached in slow 
time on the next morning about 7 o'clock. We were 
marched to the Fair Grounds, and camped in a wood on 
a large hill overlooking the depot and city. During the 
day we made additional purchases of articles that we 
thought would be of use and comfort to us, and hired 
teams to carry our company baggage. The next morning 
we left Staunton, marching to Buffalo Gap ; the regiment 
having a wagon train of thirty-five wagons, most of which 
were four-horse mountain wagons. Our company had 
five, having hired four of that number to carry our bag- 
gage, knapsacks, chests, etc., the one furnished by the 
government carrying our tents and cooking utensils. 
When we reached Buffalo Gap, flour was issued to us as 
rations, and we were promised beef as soon as some of the 
regiment would kill some cattle that were in a pen in sight. 
Some of the F boys volunteered to do the killing, if 
others would do the dressing, etc. The force was soon 
made up, the F boys quietly loading their guns, and 
shooting the required number of beeves, the others dress- 
ing them, and in a short time we had our regular supper. 
This is the commencement of our rations of beef and 
flour, a ration that was issued to us many years. While 
the beef was being dressed, camp was laid off, tents 
pitched, fires made. Some of the men took a delightful 
bath, others climbed the steep mountain and viewed the 

39 



40 ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

surrounding country. Guard was placed around the 
camp, and as bedtime approached we went quietly to rest, 
after our first regular march as a regiment. 

Next morning we continued our march, and during 
the day we heard firing of artillery so plainly in our 
front, that our officers sent someone ahead to find out 
what it meant. After waiting some time one of them 
rode forward, and when he returned after several hours' 
absence, he could give no account of it, saying that as 
far as he went it seemed just ahead, and no one he saw 
could give any information in regard to it. We went 
into camp at Ryan's, and while we were eating supper a 
dispatch was received by a courier, saying a great battle 
had been fought and won by the Confederates at Manas- 
sas. We must have been one hundred miles in an air 
line from Manassas. The firing was as distinct that day 
as any I heard afterwards that was five to six miles off. 

The company's first misfortune overtook us at Ryan's; 
the government took one of our company's wagons, and 
the driver of another refused to go any farther. Some 
of the mess chests were left, and some of the men had to 
carry tlieir knapsacks. The next day we reached ]\Ic- 
Dowell in a drizzling rain, and met the men of Garnett's 
command, who had been defeated a few days before at 
Carrick's Ford. They were a forlorn looking set, and 
told awful tales of having nothing to eat except berries 
and roasting ears! None of us believed what they said. 
It was not many months before we were made to realize 
tiiat it was the truth. We now lost another of our coni- 
I)any's wagons and more mess chests were left behind. 
The next day we marched to Monterey. We were living 
high, buying as many chickens as we wanted, nearly 
grown, for six pence — 8 1-3 cents — each, butter and 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 41 

eggs at corresponding prices per pound and dozen, and 
when we could stop for a meal, the price was nine pence 
— 12 1-2 cents. 

Continuing our march, we reached Napp's Creek Val- 
ley on the 25th, and forded that creek seventeen times 
during the day's march, the road crossing from one side 
to the other every few hundred yards. Gen. Loring, the 
officer in command of this expedition, passed us to-day 
while we were on the march. His attention being called 
to the regiment, he remarked that they were a fine look- 
ing body of men, but no soldiers. Until they are able to 
sleep in winter amidst the snow and ice without tents, 
they are not soldiers! This was repeated to our com- 
pany, and the men were very indignant, and put him down 
at once as an officer who knew nothing ; and each man in 
the company wanted to call him to account for the insinu- 
ation, and would have told him they never expected to 
sleep in snow or surrounded by ice. Alas, for our judg- 
ment! It was not many months before we were of the 
same opinion as Gen. Loring, and we then knew that we 
had at this time learned nothing about the duties of sol- 
diers in the field. On the evening of the 26th, we reached 
Huntersville, the county seat of Pocahontas. 

We stayed there several days, concentrating a force 
large enough to cope with the enemy in our front. We 
were joined by several regiments of infantry, several 
companies of cavalry, and several batteries of artillery. 
During our stay there a great many of the men became 
sick with measles and typhoid fever, and when we left 
on the evening of the 3d of August, at least one-third 
of the 2 1st Va. Regt. was sick in the hospitals. The 
courthouse and only church had been converted into hos- 
pitals, and some of the private houses were full of the 



42 OXE OF JACKSOX'S FOOT CAVALRY 

sick, and tents had to be erected for others. Our com- 
pany's baggage was reduced so much that we only had 
one wagon when we left. The march continued until 
we reached Valley Mountain on the 6th, where our regi- 
ment pitched tents on the side of this mountain, and we 
went into camp. 

Gen. R. E. Lee, having been assigned to the command 
of this department, joined us here, and pitched his head- 
quarter's tents about one or two hundred yards from our 
company. He soon won the affection of all by his po- 
liteness and notice of the soldiers. He very often had 
something to say to the men, and it soon became known 
that when some of the people in the neighborhood sent 
him something good to eat, as soon as the messenger got 
out of sight, the articles were sent to some sick soldier. 
This affection increased as the years rolled on, and I sup- 
pose no body of men under his command had more love 
and respect for our great leader than these men who 
first served under him ! 

Here is an incident showing Gen. Lee's kindness of 
heart. He was well aware of the arduous duties we had 
to do at that time. On a rainy night a private of Com- 
pany E of our regiment was on guard duty. Soon after 
getting to his post he took a seat on a log, thinking he 
could protect himself and his gun from the rain better in 
this position. While in this position he was approached 
by the corporal of the guard, who accused the man of be- 
ing asleep on his ])ost. This the man denied and stated 
that the ground being so soft from rain, he did not 
hear him approach, 'i'hc corjxjral arrested him. and took 
him to the guard house, turning him over to the officer 
of the guard. At that time it was thought a capital of- 
fense for a man to be caught asleep on post, and punish- 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 43 

able by death. In the morning the captain of the guard 
consulted with the officers of the regiment as to what 
should be done. All of them thought he ought to be shot. 
Things began to look blue for the man, when as by in- 
spiration the captain said, " Well, Gen. Lee is here, and 
he knows, and Lll carry you to him." As they ap- 
proached Gen. Lee's tent, they saw he was alone, and at a 
table writing. On getting to the tent the general bade 
them good-morning and invited them in. When they en- 
tered, the general said, '' What can I do for you, cap- 
tain? " The captain stated the case, and said the officers 
of the regiment did not know what to do, so he came to 
consult him. Gen. Lee at once replied, '' Captain, you 
know the arduous duties these men have to do daily. 
Suppose the man who was found on his post asleep had 
been you, or me, what do you think should be done to 
him? " The captain replied that he had not thought of 
it in that way. Then Gen. Lee turned to the man and 
said, " My man, go back to your quarters, and never let 
it be said you were found asleep on your post." 

The sick became so numerous here, and the regiments 
were so diminished at one time, that I suppose there were 
not more than one-fourth of the men available for duty. 
I know that in my own regiment we had to picket to the 
front and when one picket was relieved and the men re- 
turned to camp in the evening, most of them were detailed 
immediately, and ordered to get ready with rations, etc., 
to go on duty again in the morning. We worked a great 
deal on the roads. Some of the men while at work one 
day under the direction of a corporal, were observed by 
Gen. Loring in his rounds. He dismounted, gave some 
directions as to work, and then took a seat on a log 
near him. The corporal joined him, and seating himself 



44 OXE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

near the general, made some remarks about the work, 
and said to Gen. Loring, ** General, we officers have 
a good time up here, don't we? " General Loring looked 
at him, and then asked his rank. He replied : '* Cor- 
poral! " The general, who was a profane man, let some 
" cuss words " loose at him, and told him to take a spade ; 
and it is said the corporal made the dirt fly as long as 
Gen. Loring was in sight. 

Gen. Lee ordered a forward movement on Sept. 9th. 
The men were given thirty rounds of ammunition each, 
which in a short time thereafter were increased to forty 
rounds, which number was always carried by each man 
to the end of the war, unless on some special occasion we 
were required to carry eighty. 

We met the enemy at Conrad's Mill on the nth, when 
some skirmishing and artillery firing took place. As we 
advanced up the road, we passed our first dead Yankee. 
He made a lasting impression, as he lay on the side of 
the road, his face upturned and a fresh pool of 
blood at his side, showing that his life had just passed 
away. 

The enemy retired during the night. The next day a 
picket from the 21st Va. Regt. was sent to the front, re- 
maining there until the 15th, when we fell back to Valley 
Mountain, reaching there on the 17th. 

The failure here was owing more to mud than any- 
thing else. In all my experience of the war I never saw 
as much nuid. It seemed to rain every day and it got 
to be a saying in our company that you must not halloo 
loud, for if you should, we would immediately have a 
hard shower, and when some of the men on their return 
from picket had to shoot their guns off to get the load 
out, it brought on a regular flood. Granville Gray al- 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 45 

ways said it rained thirty-^zt'o days in August. I was 
told by wagoners that it was hard for them to haul 
from Milboro, a distance of sixty miles, any more than 
it took to feed their teams back and forth. I saw dead 
mules lying in the road, with nothing but their ears show- 
ing above the mud. 

We remained at Valley mountain until the 24th, when 
Gen. Lee left us and joined Gen. Floyd on Sewell's 
Mountain, taking all the troops with him but our regi- 
ment, the Irish Battalion, a battery of artillery and a 
company of cavalry. These troops were left in com- 
mand of Col. Gilham of the 21st Va. Regt. He fell 
back to Middle Mountain, about two miles from Valley 
Mountain, which position could be more easily defended. 
We marched to the place of our encampment on Middle 
Mountain, stacked arms, and returned to Valley Moun- 
tain for our camp equipage. Having no wagon, we had 
to carry everything needed on our backs, and had to make 
several trips to do it. What was left at Valley Moun- 
tain was gathered together and burned. What a fall for 
F Company! You will remember that we left Staunton 
with five wagons loaded with baggage belonging to the 
company. We are now moving the camp of our regi- 
ment without a single wagon. 

We left Middle Mountain on the 28th, after a heavy 
rain. All the creeks had become small rivers, and as 
we forded them the water came up to our waists. We 
had now one two-horse and one three-horse wagon to 
move everything belonging to the command, and began 
to think, as Gen. Loring did, that we were men, but not 
soldiers. After a short march each day we reached 
Elk Mountain about dark on Oct. i. A detail of a lieu- 
tenant and six men and a non-commissioned officer was 



46 ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

made from F Company, and sent back eight miles on the 
road to picket. We reached our destination alx)ut mid- 
night. Two sentinels were posted at once, one in the 
road, the other in a path that led over the mountain, head- 
quarters of the camp being at a spring on the road near 
a house, but on the opposite side of the road. The next 
morning, not long after day, the inmates of the house, 
a woman and her children, commenced to stir, and soon 
made their appearance. About sunrise the woman came 
to the yard fence, and commenced to abuse us in the most 
violent language I ever heard from a woman. It was 
some time before we could tell why she was abusing us. 
She had quite a large number of beehives, and the troops 
marching by her house the day before molested none of 
them. When she arose in the morning, and knew that 
one of her best hives w'as gone, and a squad of men were 
at her spring, it was quite natural that she should think 
we took it. Our lieutenant, Edward Mayo, tried to im- 
press on her that we did not ; but she knew better, as she 
had gone to bed with everything all right, and when she 
awoke, we were there and the hive was gone. This was 
convincing |)r()of to her. We were ordered not to go on 
her side of the road, nor have any talk with the inmates 
of the house, as Lieutenant Mayo w^ould show her that 
we were gentlemen at any rale. We had no rations, as 
we moved in ihc night, before we could get any. It is 
true that some of the men had a little sugar and coffee, 
and some a little raw meat and a few biscuit, .\ftcr the 
old lady had cooled off, as we supposed, our lieutenant 
went over to the house and tried to borrow or hire a cof- 
fee pot. but the old lady said she would see him and us 
in a hot place sooner. On his return we built a small 
fire, boiled the meat, and divided the bread amongst us. 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 47 

The woman now, to add to our misery, commenced to 
bring out her milk and carry it to the hog pen, pouring 
gallon after gallon to the hogs. We did not say a word 
to any of the household during the day. A little before 
night our lieutenant went over again to see what he could 
do, and with the offer of a little coffee, an article he found 
the old lady was very fond of and had been without for 
some time, he got the use of a teakettle to make some cof- 
fee in, and she baked us an oven of corn bread. He 
carried the articles back, and stayed in the porch, had 
quite a long chat, and returning, told us she promised to 
let us have the kettle and some more bread in the morn- 
ing. In the morning we got them, with the promise of 
a dinner for the party. About dinner time we were 
relieved, and ordered to report back to camp. We waited 
for our dinner, and the old lady certainly did try herself. 
She gave us as nice a dinner as we ever had, including 
dessert, which made amends for the way in which she first 
treated us. She also apologized, and we left truly 
friends, and all kissed the baby. 

We left Elk Mountain on the 9th, for Edray, march- 
ing amidst the most beautiful scenery I ever saw, the 
trees having taken on their brilliant colors of fall. We 
remained in Edray and had a picket on Elk Mountain 
until the 14th, when we moved to Greenbrier river. Soon 
after leaving our camp and getting into the road, we 
passed two men who were sitting on the ground, facing 
a rail fence. Their hands and feet were put through the 
rails, and tied together on the opposite side of the fence, 
in such a position that they could not move. A little 
further on, we passed two who were lying on top of the 
fence, their hands and feet tied to some of the rails under- 
neath, so as to keep them from moving. These men had 



48 ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

been guilty of disobeying some order, and were punished 
in tliat manner. 

We went regularly into camp, on the banks of the beau- 
tiful Greenbrier, on a piece of low ground that was al- 
most level, affording plenty of room for camp and drill. 
It was a magnificent camp. The weather w-as fine, and 
the time of year such as to make it bracing; the men soon 
improved so much, and fattened too, that they became 
better looking than when they left home. W^e had a 
picket on the other side of Edray, about twelve miles 
from camp. About fifteen men and an officer went and 
stayed three days. It was my fortune to go there with 
the first detail, and I went again afterwards, and I 
thought it the most delightful duty of the war. 

While we were in this camp we were informed that in 
a few days there would be an election for President and 
Vice-President of the Confederate States of America. 
This had been talked about with much interest for some 
time, but without the usual excitement of an election, as 
there was only one ticket in the field. All the South 
looked to Mr. Davis as their leader, and no other person 
was even thought of. Much interest was taken by the 
soldiers, as it would be the first election held in camp. 
They discussed as to who were entitled to vote, and 
where the voting place would be located. On a cloudy 
morning in November it was announced that the eventful 
day had arrived, and the precinct was open. Some of the 
regiment had been a])p()iiited judges. The voting pre- 
cinct was in a tent in our camp, across the entrance of 
which a pole had been placed, to mark the line between 
the voters and judges. It had been decided that all en- 
listed soldiers, regardless of age, that were of good stand- 
ing, could vote. 1'hc following ticket was eagerly voted : 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 49 

Virginia Electoral Ticket 
Election November 6th, 1861. 

For President 
Jefferson Davis, 
of Mississippi. 

For Vice-President 

Alex. H. Stevens, 

of Georgia. 

Electors 

For the State at Large 
John R. Edmunds, Halifax. 
A. T. Caperton, Monroe. 

For the District 
1st. Joseph Christian, Middlesex. 
2nd. Cincinnatiis W. Newton, Norfolk City. 
3rd. R. T. Daniel, -Richmond City. 
4th. W. F. Thompson, Dinwiddie. 
5th. Wood Bouldin, Charlotte. 
6th. W. L. Goggin, Bedford. 
7th. B. F. Randolph, Albemarle. 
8th. James W. Walker, Madison. 
9th. Asa Rogers, Loudoun, 
loth. Samuel C. Williams, Shenandoah, 
nth. Samuel M. D. Reid, Rockbridge. 
1 2th. H. A. Edmundson, Roanoke. 
13th. J. W. Sheffey, Smyth. 
14th. H. J. Fisher, Mason. 
15th. Joseph Johnson, Flarrison. 
1 6th. E. H. Fitzhugh, Ohio. 



50 ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

The election passed off with much enthusiasm, and at 
the close of day, when it was announced that the entire 
regiment had voted for Jefferson Davis and Alex. H. 
Stevens, there were loud and repeated cheers for them 
and the Confederacy. 

One morning while we were in the camp, the guard 
near the river reported a deer swimming the river, and 
making fc^r the middle of our camp. All was in com- 
motion in a minute. The deer came over and ran down 
the middle street of our encampment, and took to the 
hills in the rear. Many men took their guns and went 
in pursuit, 1 amongst the rest; and, hoping to head 
the deer off and get a shot, I ran in an ohlique direc- 
tion to the top of the hill, hut did not see the deer, as 
it had heen turned the other way hy some of the men. 
The exertion made me breathe rapidly, and I took my 
time back to camp. One of the guard quietly ap- 
proached, told me I was arrested, and marched me to 
the guard house, which was the shade of a tree on the 
river side. During my absence, an order had been 
issued to the guard to arrest every man found with a 
gun in his hand; my comrades, being near enough, 
heard the order given, dropped their guns, quietly 
walked into camp, and afterwards went back for them. 
I was the only man arrested. Another deer ran 
through our camp before we left. We made ex- 
cursions in the neighborhood, sometimes fording 
the river, sometimes mounting a log and riding 
over on that, often getting a ducking by the logs turn- 
ing. 

W'c left Greenbrier river on November iitli. and 
reached the Warm S])rings the night of the i^lh. march- 
ing twenty-two miles lliat day, the last five (on Peter 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 51 

Sublett's dead level) all the way up hill! The hotel 
was open at that time, and the officers of F Company- 
treated the company to supper. I cannot tell you of 
that supper. I only know none was ever enjoyed more. 
After supper we took a bath in the warm pool, and as 
the atmosphere was cool, we thought the water hot, 
but we enjoyed it. Next morning the men of F Com- 
pany took breakfast at the hotel, and we marched to the 
Bath Alum Springs, pitched tents, and went regularly 
into camp. We had a good snow here. Our camp 
was on the edge of a piece of land that had been re- 
cently cleared of its wood, the wood being cut into 
logs about eight feet long, and piled ready for burning. 
Every day we toted enough of these logs to our tents to 
make a great fire that would last about twenty- four 
hours. At night we gathered around these fires, and 
had a big time telling tales, singing, etc. I think the 
company enjoyed this camp very much. Here a com- 
rade, J. E. Mayo, and I took our muskets and went out 
of camp to see if we could get a deer ; we cut our bul- 
lets into slugs and loaded with them. We had not gone 
more than three hundred yards when two deer sprang 
up, but we thought they were too far for our slugs. 
A little farther on we came to a branch that seemed to 
run around a hill. It was agreed that he should go 
over the hill, and I would follow the branch; and when 
he got in sight of the branch, he should halloo. I 
waited for the signal, and hearing it, started up the 
bottom, went a short distance, jumped a doe, called out 
to him to look out, and soon heard a shot which killed 
the deer. We carried it at once to camp, and had a big 
time over our deer. We stayed at Bath Alum Springs 
until the 30th, when we marched to Milboro, staying 



5J ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

there until December 4th, and then took the cars for 
Staunton. 

We left Millboro late in the evening on flat cars, and 
did not reach the camping place on the side of the rail- 
road near Staunton until late in the night. That was 
a fearful ride at that season of the year; it was cold, 
and our riding on a flat car made it more so. The 
water tank at Panther Gap was literally one mass of 
ice; some of the men got a small quantity of wood and 
built fires in the spiders and ovens that afforded a little 
warmth for a few. It was only a few minutes after 
leaving the cars before we had trees cut down and 
rousing fires going. Did it ever occur to the reader 
how quickly soldiers could make fires? It made no 
difference whether it was raining, snowing, or blowing 
a great gale, in five minutes after getting into camp, a 
regiment would have fifty fires burning. Wet wood 
and green wood made no difference. 

While we were in this camp, we elected officers to 
fill the vacancy occasioned by the resignation of First 
Lieutenant Edward Mayo. P. A. \\'ellford was made 
first lieutenant, H. T. Miller second, and W. Granville 
Gray, Junior, second. 



V 

THE VALLEY OF VIRGINIA 

We were encamped in Augusta County, about one and 
a half miles north of Staunton. In the valley, that great 
place for wheat, flour, and hogs, and democrats, the 
latter could always be heard from in counting the votes 
after an election. 

We remained here until the loth of December, when 
we took up our march to join Jackson at Winchester. 
We marched along quietly each day, until we reached Mt. 
Jackson on the 20th. It was the custom, during the 
war, to march with the right of the regiment in front 
one day, and the left next day. On the 20th the left 
was marching in front. That threw our company in 
the rear, as w^e were the right company. During the 
day the left led off several times in quick time, which 
gave our company hard marching. Few know how 
much easier it is to march in front of a regiment than 
in the rear. That night our company decided that we 
would get even next day with the left, and if the of- 
ficers did not interfere, we would give it to them. 
Soon after getting into the road the next morning, our 
captain told Sergeant Rawlings, who was leading the 
company, to step out. Now Sergeant Rawlings was 
just the man to do it, as he was a powerful man phys- 
ically, with great endurance. lie stepped out at quick 
time, and kept that pace during the march. In six 
hours and a half after leaving Mt. Jackson, we went 
into camp at Strasburg, marching twenty-three and 

53 



54 ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

one-half miles. It was said by some of the boys who 
timed us, that we marched three miles at one time in 
thirty-three minutes. This was the quickest march we 
made during the war. We had a snow storm while 
at Strasburg, and marched to Winchester on the 25th, 
passing through the town the next day, going into camp 
on the Romney Road. In marching through Winches- 
ter, as we filed to the left at one of the cross streets, we 
saw standing in the crowd on the sidewalk a man with 
full dark whiskers and hair, dressed in uniform, wear- 
ing a long dark blue overcoat with a large cape, his 
coat reaching to his boots, which were worn outside of 
his pants in regular military style, and on them were 
bright spurs. His head was covered by a faded gray 
cap, pulled down so far over his face that between cap 
and whiskers one could see very little of it ; but as we 
passed we caught a glimpse of a pair of dark flashing 
eyes from underneath the brim of his cap. That man 
was Stonewall Jackson, and this was our lirst sight of 
him. 

In our march on the third day after leaving Staunton, 
we met a woman riding a horse; she had five children 
on this same horse. She had large bags, fastened to- 
gether after the fashion of saddle bags, on the horse 
behind the saddle, and a cliild's head was looking out 
on each side of the horse, two children were on the 
horse behind her, and a baby in her arms. When she 
came into our midst, and realized that the war was 
actually going on, she broke down and commenced to 
cry. One of our ofhcers rode up to her, hat in hand 
and with the politeness of a Virginian, said some pleas- 
ant word to her. This, .iiid the respect shown her by 
the passing men, soon restored her. She said her hus- 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 55 

band was in the army, and she, fearing to stay at their 
home by herself in the lower valley, was going to her 
mother's higher up, where she hoped to be out of reach 
of the enemy, in case the lower valley should be aban- 
doned by our army. She would have to travel about 
fifty miles. The children seemed tO' be in splendid spirits 
and to enjoy our passing. Although this was a sight 
none of us ever saw before, every one treated her with 
the respect due the first lady of the land. Here is war, 
real war. Such scenes as families leaving home with 
nothing but what they could carry on their person, was 
witnessed many times by the writer. 

In going down the valley, we had a feast all the way; 
the people had just finished killing hogs, and every 
house had sausage, spare ribs, chine, liver, etc., to give 
us. We passed Lacy's Spring or Big Spring for the 
first time, situated on the side of the pike. The volume 
of water from this spring is large enough to run a large 
mill, and it looked more like a small river than a spring 
branch. 

At that time everything in the valley had a thrifty 
look, the horses and cattle were fat and sleek, the large 
barns overflowing with the gathered crops, the houses 
which were small in comparison with the barns, looked 
comfortable, the fences, post and rail or stone, were in 
splendid order; in fact everything looked well, and 
showed a thriving population. It was truly a land of 
milk and honey. 

While in camp at Winchester, the Irish Battalion 
and the 48th, 4.26., and 21st Va. Regiments were formed 
into a brigade, and were known as the second brigade 
of Jackson's division. Col. Wm. Gilham, being the 
ranking officer, took command. The marching we had 



56 ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

now dune made all of us discard everything but neces- 
saries, and we bei^an to think that Ritchie Green did a 
very smart thing, when we left Richmond, to carry 
nothing in his knapsack but one paper collar and a plug 
of tobacco! 

We elected a lieutenant here, to fill the vacancy occa- 
sioned by the resignation of Second Lieutenant Henry 
T. Miller. W. Granville Gray was made second lieu- 
tenant, and James B. Payne, junior, second lieutenant. 



VI 

BATH AND ROMNEY 

Gen. Jackson having decided on a winter campaign, 
marched his army from the neighborhood of Winches- 
ter January i, 1862, a beautiful day, the sun shining 
brightly and the atmosphere bracing. The second bri- 
gade camped near Pughtown that night, the 21st Va. 
Regt. in a large wood, where gathering the fresh fallen 
leaves into large piles, placing our oilcloths on them 
and laying down, covering with our blankets, we en- 
joyed the bed as much as any we ever slept on. 

We marched the next morning at early dawn, and at 
night camped at Unger's X Roads. The next day, the 
3d, we met the enemy about five miles from Bath, Mor- 
gan County. The 21st Va. Regt. was marching near 
the rear of the column. Gen. Jackson sent an order for F 
Company to report to the front, and we marched by our 
troops, who had halted in the road. When we reached 
the front, we halted and were ordered to load, which 
was done under fire, as the enemy were a short dis- 
tance in front, on a hill behind a fence. As soon as 
we had loaded, we were deployed as skirmishers, and 
ordered forward through a wood, halting on its edge 
behind a fence. There we became heavily engaged 
with the enemy, and kept up a fire until it was too dark 
to see. Firing ceased, and returning to our regiment, 
we went into camp. This was the first real fight of the 
company, and the men behaved splendidly. William 

57 



58 ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

Exall was killed and Lieut. James B. Payne seriously 
wounded. 

It snowed during the night and the weather became 
very cold. 

The enemy were at Bath in force. Tn the morning 
Gen. Jackson advanced on their ])osition in three col- 
umns, the second brigade moving along the road with 
I*" Company as advance guard. We moved slowly, in 
order to let a column on our left get into position on 
the mountain ridge. We came in sight of the enemy, 
who were in line of battle on that ridge, about one and 
a half miles from Bath. Our column had marched along 
the road until it got almost on the flank of their line, 
before they moved. It was too far for musket firing, 
but the men of each side engaged in much abuse of each 
other. As soon as our skirmish line on the ridge came 
within shooting distance, firing commenced, and the 
enemy began to retreat. Gen. Jackson now arrived at 
the front and took the lead on horseback, a few cour- 
iers following him ; as he passed our company, he or- 
dered us to double quick, and we soon ran. This was 
a grand sight. The second brigade marching by the 
Hank and running down the road, the Yankees in sight 
on the ridge to our left, running too, our column on 
the ridge following them as fast as they could run! 
In tliis way cnir column entered Bath, going through 
the village, doubling back on the road which wound up 
the ridge. When we reached the top of the ridge, we 
could see the Yankees disap])caring at the far end of a 
field, going toward the Potomac river. We followed, 
but the road ran through a defile, and we could not go 
as fast as the enemy, because we had to look out for 
their rear guard, who occasionally came in sight and 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 59 

fired. The enemy went over the river during the night. 
We captured some stores and a few prisoners. 

I saw Col. Turner Ashby to-day for the first time ; he 
impressed me as being a dashing man. He passed us 
with a company of cavalry, taking a road to our left. 
One of our columns following on another road, had a 
spirited combat with the enemy. On the next day, the 
5th, Gen. Jackson moved his force towards Hancock, a 
village on the Maryland side of the Potomac. He sent 
for F Company to come to the front and lead the col- 
umn across the river ; a high honor to come from him. 
We marched out of camp singing, and kept it up until 
we arrived at the front. While we were singing the 
" Pirate's Glee," and were well in the chorus, every 
man having joined in with a zest, and had taken up the 
inspiring words, " We'll nail the black flag to the mast," 
we came suddenly on Gen. Jackson. He pulled off his 
cap, and his eyes twinkled with evident delight as we 
passed. 

We marched to a certain point and halted, and stayed 
there several hours, the Yankees throwing a shell at us 
occasionally from a battery in Plancock. The ground » ^ 
was covered with snow, and it was cold, and we were ^ ^ 
not allowed to make fires. As night approached, we 
marched back and with our regiment, camped for the 
night. It was snowing and hailing, which continued 
all night, and was intensely cold. The ground the next 
morning was covered several inches with snow and 
ice. Gen. Jackson gave up the advance on this road, 
owing to the ice in the Potomac river, and on the 8th 
we returned to Unger's X Roads. The march was a 
terrible one; the road had become one sheet of ice from 
frequent marching over it, and the men would march 



6o OXE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

in the side ditches and in the woods, where it was prac- 
ticable; guns were constantly being fired by the men 
falling, and many accidents were occasioned thereby. 
In some instances the horses had to be taken from the 
cannon and wagons, and men with chains and ropes 
I)ulled them, the horses being sent forward through the 
woods; and at many hills, the pioneers had to cut small 
trenches across the road, in order that the men might 
have a footing. It was late in the night when we 
stopped to camp. Although the men underwent great 
exertion in this march, the cold was so intense that 
their suffering was great. I saw Gen. Jackson march- 
ing along the road on foot with the men several times. 
Col. Gilham and Major Shipp of the 21st Va. Regt. 
received an order to report to the Va. ^lilitar}' Institute 
for duty, and they left on the 9th. The men had 
become very much attached to both, and were sorry to 
give them up. As a token of their respect, F Company 
purchased a fine horse and presented it to Col. Gilham, 
attaching to the bridle one of our F's. The next day 
we had hail again; the second brigade marched only 
about fc)ur miles, marching as they did the day before, 
men to help cannon and wagons. The next day my 
regiment marched about five hundred yards', and the 
head of the brigade marched about four miles. Owing 
to the terrible weather, our line was scattered over ten 
miles of road. My mess was so near the camping place 
of last night, that we went back to it, put the chunks 
together, and in a short time were comfortable and 
asleep for the night, rejoining the company in the morn- 
ing in time for roll call. The only way we could get 
along at all was to have heavy details of men with 
each wagon and cannon to help, and at times to pull 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 6i 

them. Each day was colder than the day before, and 
we crossed most of the streams, cannon, wagons, and 
men, on the ice. 

On the 14th it snowed and hailed again. In our 
march we passed for several miles along the road a 
growth of flat cedar or arbor vitse. We continued our 
march in the same way, until we reached the neighbor- 
hood of Romney on the 17th. There the head of the 
column had quite a spirited combat with the enemy, 
capturing their camp and some stores. The second bri- 
gade went into camp in a wood near the town, and 
picketed the road we had marched over. Here the sun 
came out and shone on us, the first time for nineteen 
days. 

Our mess lost its " spider " on this march, and I 
thought one might be purchased in the neighborhood to 
replace it. One day I took a stroll into the country to 
get one, and went to several houses without success. 
Finally I came to a very comfortable looking house, 
and found an old lady who was very talkative. She 
made many inquiries where we were from, how long 
we were going to stay, etc. ; she seemed particularly 
pleased on learning I was from Richmond, and we had 
a long chat about the city. I finally told her what I 
wanted. She called a servant girl and held a consulta- 
tion, and finally decided that she would let me have a 
certain oven that was too large for her family. It was 
brought from one of the outhouses and a bargain was 
made, after much discussion. She wished to know if it 
suited me. It was an unusually large one, and had a 
broken lid. It did not suit me, but was the only one 
I had been able to get, and I told her that it did. 
As to the price, she did not know what to say. She 



62 ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

finally said, *' That is a good oven. I bought it in Win- 
chester sixteen years ago, and gave two dollars and 
fifty cents for it. It's a good oven, even if the lid is 
cracked (a piece was broken out of it), it's done me 
good service. \\'ell, as you want it, under the circum- 
stances, you may have it for two dollars and seventy- 
five cents." That took all the wind out of me; I am 
sure you could have knocked me down with a feather, 
but T paid her the money, and the service that oven 
rendered us proved it was a bargain. 

The first night or two after the ground became cov- 
ered with snow. We cleaned the snow ofif, so as to have 
the ground to lie on, but the thawing of the ground 
underneath us made it nuuldy, and our oilcloths would 
be badly soiled when we got up in the morning; we 
then tried the snow, and found it made a better bed 
and was equally as warm. After that, we never re- 
moved the snow on going into camp. Some nights we 
would spread our tent on the snow, put our oilcloths on 
that, and a blanket on that, then the party would lie 
down, a comrade cover them up with the remaining 
blankets, and then throw the sides of the tent over that, 
leaving nothing but the head out; he would then crawl 
from the bottom into his place, in this way I managed 
to sleep very comfortably several nights on this expe- 
dition. 

On the 24th, the 21st Va. Kcgt. marched into the 
town of Romncy, taking up its (piartcrs in the houses 
that had been rlescrtcd. V Conii)any had the bank 
building. We lived \\\'\\ there; my mess employed an 
old darky, about two squares oft*, to cook our rations, 
she adding to tlicni any good thing she could get. 
There was a hotel that had buckwheat cakes in splendid 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 6^ 

style, fine butter and syrup for breakfast, and only 
charged twenty-five cents for meals. It took only three 
days for us to eat it out. 

Gen. Jackson left us here, going to Winchester and 
taking a part of his force with him, leaving Gen. Lor- 
ing in command at Roniney. We staid until the even- 
ing of February 3d, when Romney was given up, and 
Gen. Loring's force was marched towards Winchester. 
W^e marched late in the night, and it snowed again. 
Our wagons had gone ahead, and when I arrived at 
their camping place, I sat down on a bucket at one of 
the wagoner's fire to warm, fell asleep, and stayed 
on my bucket until morning! We reached Winchester 
on the 6th, and went into camp, after being away a 
little over a month, undergoing the most terrible experi- 
ence during the war. Many men were frozen to death, 
others frozen so badly they never recovered, and the 
rheumatism contracted by many was never gotten rid 
of. Many of the men were incapacitated for service, 
large numbers were barefooted, having burned their 
shoes while trying to warm their feet at the fires. 

Do any of my readers recollect Randall Evans at 
Winchester? He is the old colored man who could get 
up such famous dinners. After a long time in camp, 
or on a march with the usual army fare, to go to Ran- 
dall Evans, and get a meal such as he could serve, 
would make one forget all about bread and beef, both 
without salt ! I never saw a soldier leave his place w^ho 
was not perfectly satisfied with the army and every- 
thing else, and it was brought about by being full of 
food, as Randall did not keep anything to drink. What 
Tom Griffin was to Richmond, so was Randall Evans 
to Winchester. After the Romney campaign, we came 
very near eating Randall out. 



VII 

WINCHESTER EVACUATED 1 862. 

Gen. Jackson sent several regiments of his army to 
Gen. Johnston at IManassas. We remained in our camp 
on the Romney road until the 27th of February, when my 
brigade marched through Winchester and camped on 
the Berryville road, staying there until March 7th; at 
which time we marched through Winchester, and 
camped on the Staunton pike, where we stayed until the 
nth. Then everything was packed, and we were 
ready for a general move. These movements were occa- 
sioned by the enemy having crossed the Potomac, and 
it being reported that tliey would advance on Winches- 
ter. We marched through Winchester again, this time 
to the Martinsburg road, as we heard that the enemy 
were advancing on this road, ant! were not far off. 
They were commanded by Gen. Banks, afterwards 
known as Jackson's commissary, who later supplied our 
army so bountifully. Gen. Jackson made disposition to 
meet them. A line of battle was formed across the 
pike, a battery placed on Fort Hill and the 21st Va. Regt. 
ordered to support it. We took our position along with 
the battery and lay down awaiting the enemy. We 
heard occasional guns in our front. When night came 
the enemy had not made their appearance. 

Gen. Jackson considered the enemy too strong for 
him, and withdrew during the night, marching through 
Winchester a short distance, and resting until morning. 
Then we continued our march slowly up the vallev, 

64 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 65 

until we reached Mt. Jackson on the i8th. The second 
brigade went into camp about one mile below Mt. Jack- 
son, and the balance of the army marched to Rude's 
Hill, about two miles above that village, where they 
camped. We sent a picket down the valley pike and 
on the 20th marched to Rude's Hill and joined the bal- 
ance of our little army. The enemy had followed us 
slowly, but at Mt. Jackson stopped, and retired down 
the valley. 

Gen. Jackson was a great man for saving everything 
captured from the enemy. His way was to save every- 
thing already on hand and never destroy if there was 
a chance to save. It was a saying in the command 
that he would carry off a wheelbarrow load, rather than 
let it fall into the hands of the enemy. While we were 
camped around Winchester, he was diligently at work 
getting everything out of reach of the enemy, in case 
he should be compelled to leave; even the locomotives 
and cars, that were captured at Martinsburg, were sent 
to the rear. Because the valley pike was such an ex- 
cellent road, he could do this. He sent parties of men 
along the pike, who cut down trees, and used the timber 
in bracing the bridges to enable them to endure great 
weight. When everything was ready, large teams of 
horses and mules were hitched to the locomotives and 
cars at Martinsburg, and they were hauled to Strasburg, 
a distance of about fifty miles, where they were put on 
the Alanassas Gap railroad for the use of the Confed- 
eracy. In this way many locomotives and cars were 
saved. During this movement, I saw at one time five 
cars on their way to Strasburg. 



VIII 

KERNSTOVVN 

Gen. Jackson's army was now at Riide's Hill. The 
enemy had retired from our front to obtain, as we sup- 
posed, a better camping place. On the evening of March 
2 1st, we received orders to cook three days' rations, 
and be ready to move at early dawn the next morning. 
When the line was formed in the morning, and we 
marched to the road, instead of turning up the valley 
pike, as we supposed our course would be, we took a 
quick march in the direction of the enemy, and soon 
passed through Mt. Jackson. 

The day was raw and blustering. We marched 
twenty-seven miles, stopped near Fisher's Hill and 
bivouacked for the night. Early the next morning we 
marched, and kept it uj), until we reached Barton's Mill, 
about noon, having marched about sixteen miles. Our 
brigade stopped to rest until most of the troops came 
up. We had heard cannon firing in our front and knew 
our advance under Ashby had overtaken the enemy. 
It was a surprise to the men that we had come so far 
without encountering them. I>ut it was known to Gen. 
Jackson that they had fallen back to the neighborhood 
of Winchester, and were sending some of their number 
away to join their army at Manassas. Our march was 
to find out what they were doing. It was ascertained 
that they had made a stand at Kernstown. 

The 2 1st Va. Regiment was now orrlcrcd forward, 
and after going down the pike a short distance, turned 

66 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 6y 

to the left, and inarched across an open field towards 
the hills that were covered with woods. When we were 
ahout half way across the field, we came in sight of the 
Yankee line of battle near Kernstown, and a battery 
posted on a hill a little in their rear. The battery 
opened on us at once. We were ordered to double 
quick, soon began to run, and reached the hills without 
an accident. F Company were thrown forward as 
skirmishers and advance, the regiment following in line 
of battle a short distance, when the company was 
ordered to join them, and we marched by the flank. 
A gun or two of the Rockbridge battery now joined 
us, we marched under a hill, and they to the right on 
top of the ridge. These guns were occasionally in their 
march exposed to the view of the enemy's battery, and 
they fired at them, the shells passing over our regiment. 
One of them struck one of the drivers of the guns, tear- 
ing his leg to pieces, and going through the horse. 
Both fell; the shell descended and passed through our 
ranks and struck a stump not far off, spinning around 
like a top, and before it stopped one of the company 
ran and jumped on it, taking it up and carrying it along 
as a trophy. This is the first man of the war I saw 
struck by a shell; it was witnessed by the majority of 
the regiment. 

Gen. Jackson now made his appearance, and had a 
talk with our commander, Lt.-Col. Patton. We were 
thrown forward into line of battle again, and marched 
a short distance to the top of a hill, and in full sight of 
the enemy's line of battle. They were advancing, too, 
at this point. I saw five flags; we opened fire at once, 
and they scattered. In a few minutes I saw only two 
flags, and soon after only one, which marched in a field 



68 ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

on our rii^ht to a pile of rocks on which it was planted; 
the regiment gathered around it. Our regiment and 
the guns of the Rockbridge battery have been fighting 
this force. Our line was lengthened by the arrival of 
the third brigade on our left. A part of our regiment 
moved to a fence on the right, and facing the enemy in 
the field, fired at them. Some of F Company were 
kneeling down, firing from behind the fence, some were 
standing straight up; soon all were standing, and tak- 
ing deadly aim as they fired. As the excitement in- 
creased, they mounted the fence, and many sat on it, 
loading and firing until every cartridge was shot away. 
A regiment was sent to the support of the Yankees, but 
they never got any nearer than the ])arty around the 
flag, and they soon became intermingled with them. 
All our ammunition being gone, we gradually retired, 
passing through the 5th Va. Regt. that had formed in 
our rear. Our artillery had taken position and were 
firing (tn the enemy, but when we retreated they were 
comi)elled to do so. In going through a gap in a stone 
wall, one of their guns became entangled and disabled 
and was left. One of our company in going to the rear 
was encountered by Gen. Jackson who inriuired where 
he was going. lie answered, that he had shot all his 
ammunition away, and did not know where to get more. 
Old Stonewall rose in his stirruj^s, and gave the com- 
mand, " Then go back and give thi-m the bayonet," and 
rode oft" to the front. 

The remainder of the little army had been heavily 
engaged, and although confronted by large odds, held its 
own, and only retired after shooting all its ammunition 
away. It .seems to me that the 21st Wa. Regt. would 
have held its line indefinitely, if it had been supplied with 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 69 

ammunition. It was a regular stand-up fight with us, 
and as stated the men along the fence left its protection 
and fought as I never saw any fighting during the war. 
After this, they were glad to take advantage of any- 
thing. 

We were whipped after desperate fighting, and I 
think only for want of ammunition. Night found our 
little army in retreat towards the valley pike, where the 
stragglers were gathered up, and the men lay down on 
the ground for a few hours' rest. The next morning 
we took up a slow and sullen march up the valley, the 
enemy following. Arriving at Middletown, I learned 
that Tucker Randolph, one of my messmates, was in 
one of the houses. He had been sent to the rear the 
evening before, wounded. I soon found him, and see- 
ing the condition of my dear old comrade, I made up my 
mind to stay and nurse him if I could obtain my cap- 
tain's permission. Dear old fellow! how he thanked 
me when I said it. I had long ago made up my mind 
never to be taken prisoner, but could not leave my mess- 
mate. All our wagons and ambulances had long passed, 
our lieutenant had promised to send an ambulance back, 
the surgeon had also promised. I finally became so 
uneasy, that I went to all the town folks to see if I 
could get a vehicle of some kind to take him away, but 
could get nothing. All the infantry had now gone, 
even the stragglers had left tlie village. The cannon 
of the horse artillery, our rear guard, were near, having 
ceased its firing, and I could hear the exchange of car- 
bine shots. I w^ent to the door, and looked up the 
street for my long looked-for ambulance, but nothing 
was in sight. I looked down the street, and saw the 
horse artillery entering the village. I now made up 



yo OXE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

my mind to ask the officer in coniniand to take my 
friend on one of the caissons, and went into the street 
to meet him. when, takins^ another look up the street, 
I saw an amhulance coming on a run. We put my 
comrade into it in a hurry, pitched in Iiis knapsack, 
etc., and off we went. We passed out of the village in 
time to get away, but the Yanks gave us a parting shot 
from a cannon as we left, the shot passing over without 
damage. The horses to the ambulance received some 
heavy whacks from the whip of the driver, and we were 
out of all danger. 

I went along with my comrade, and before night 
had collected about half a dozen of the wounded of my 
company. I took care of them until we arrived at 
Staunton, and put them on the cars en route to their 
homes. I then returned to my company. 

This was the first regular battle of the regiment, and 
it was said we displayed great gallantry. I^^ Company 
had six wounded, Tucker Randolph. Xed Taylor, 
Charles Taylor, Henry Pccor, Charles Skinker, and Joe 
Xunnally. 
^^ This attack of Gen. Jackson on the encmv was a verv 
' daring one, and was the means of helping our army at 
Manassas, as the troops the enemy were sending away 
were recalled. The enemy were far superior to us in 
numbers, and although Jackson was whipped, Congress 
thought it did the cause so much good that it at once 
passed a resolution of thanks to Jackson and his army. 



IX 

THE RETREAT FROM KERNSTOWN 

On the 24th of March our brigade moved to the 
vicinity of Strasbiirg, where we halted about midday 
and camped. The enemy were in hot pursuit, we could 
hear firing in the rear all day, and from some high 
points could see the enemy during the march. We 
had built fires in our camp, drawn rations, and were 
busy cooking, when a shell came screaming over our 
heads, followed by another. In a few minutes the 
woods were full of shells from the enemy, who had 
driven our rear guard far enough to command our 
woods from one of the neighboring hills. We loaded 
our cooking utensils and baggage on the wagons, and 
they went off in a run; we soon followed in a slow 
march, and continued it until we reached the neighbor- 
hood of Woodstock, where we quietly went into camp 
out of hearing of the enemy. The next day we went 
into camp near Mt. Jackson. On the 26th, the second 
brigade was sent back to near Woodstock to meet the 
enemy, with whom we skirmished till the 28th, when 
we marched to Mt. Jackson; and on the 3d of April re- 
turned to near Edinburg to meet the enemy again. 
We were to cooperate with Col. Ashby in any move- 
ment he made. F Company was ordered forward as 
skirmishers through a wood, halting on its edge. A 
large open field was in our front, and Edinburg in full 
view, and the Yankee skirmish line on the opposite side 
of the creek. We engaged them at once. Col. Ashby 

71 



72 ONE OF JACKSOX'S FOOT CAVALRY 

came along, "iding his white horse; he had the dwarf 
courier with him, and told us not to fire unless the 
enemy attempted to cross the creek, and if they should 
make the attempt, to give it to them. He rode out in 
our front to a small hillock to see what was going on, 
the little courier accompanying him. The enemy im- 
mediately shot at them ; as they reached the hillock, the 
courier's horse fell dead. We could hear Colonel Ashby 
tell him to take off his saddle, bridle and accouterments, 
and carry them to the rear, which he did as quickly as 
possible. Colonel A. sat his horse as quietly as if he 
had been in camp, until the courier reached the woods, 
when he quietly turned his horse and walked him off 
towards us, passing through our line going to the rear. 
Soon afterwards he gave orders for our brigade to go 
back to camp, as he would have nothing for us to do 
that day. 

On the 5th we marched to Rude's Hill, and went into 
camp. The next morning I was ordered to report, with 
arms, to the brigade quartermaster. On arriving at his 
quarters I saw two large wagons, four mules hitched to 
each, and learned that a detail of six men had been made 
to accompany the wagons on a trip to get corn. As soon 
as all the iiu-n reported, a quartermaster sergeant who 
went with us, ordered us to get into the wagons, three 
in each. The wagons started at once, went to the val- 
ley pike and turned down the pike. Reaching Rude's 
Hill we i)asscd some artillerymen who had a cannon 
trained on the bridge over the Shenandoah. At the foot 
of the hill we passed the cavalry outpost of about thirty 
or forty men, who were dismounted and waiting events, 
their horses strung along and fastened to the fence each 
side of the road. When thev learned our destination, 



^ 



r\ 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 73 

all of them bade us good-by, saying they wi^uld never see 
us again, as the Yankees would certainly capture us. 
Going about a half a mile farther we passed the cavalry 
vidette on the outpost. He said good-by too, and 
pointed out to us the Yankee vidette in his front, a little 
above the bridge and on the other side of the river. We 
went about a fourth of a mile farther, pulled down two 
panels of fence on the left of the road, entered a large 
corn field, and loaded those wagons more quickly than 
any were ever loaded before. When we had them about 
half full a Yankee cavalryman rode to his vidette in 
plain view of us, had a short talk, then rode off at full 
speed. That made us pull corn faster. The wagons 
were driven back to the road and headed for camp. A 
countryman who was with us said that was " the slickest 
job he ever saw." When we reached our vidette, he 
gave us a hearty welcome, and the outpost cavalry gave 
us a big cheer. 

On the 7th w^e marched below Mt. Jackson and 
camped in our old place. On the loth all of Jackson's 
force marched up the valley, and stopped near New 
Market. On the 13th our brigade marched to the gap 
of Massanuttin Mountain that leads into Luray Valley, 
it having been rumored that the enemy were making a 
demonstration from that direction. On the 17th all 
the force marched up the valley to Big Spring, staying 
there all night, and the next morning marched up the 
valley, leaving the valley pike near Harrisonburg towards 
Swift Run Gap, and crossed the Shenandoah river, go- 
ing into camp next day. We were safe from pursuit 
now, w^ith our backs to the Blue Ridge, and at this point 
our little force could keep off easily thrice as many as 
have been in pursuit of us. 



74 ONE OF JACKSOX'S FOOT CAVALRY 

This was the boldest retreat I ever saw. Gen. Jack- 
son was defeated at Kernstown on the 25th of March, 
by an overwhehning force, and the next day retired up 
the valley more slowly than I ever saw him march ; and 
when we went into camp at night we tarried as long as 
possible. If the enemy did not hunt for us. Gen. Jack- 
son would hunt for them. The regiments had orders to 
drill just as if no enemy was within a hundred miles of us. 
It can be seen that our movements were slow since it 
took us from March 24th to April i8th to march about 
one hundred miles, although we marched about half that 
distance in two days when we advanced to Kernstown. 

We rested at this camp and made ourselves as com- 
fortable as we could in shelter of brush, oilcloths, etc. 
The day we reached here Gen. Jackson ordered all the 
wagons containing tents and extra baggage to the rear, 
and so far that we never saw them again ! This was a 
hard blow to us, since we had gotten in the habit of 
smuggling many articles into our tents to avoid carrying 
them, and when our tents left, they had dress coats, un- 
derclothing, etc., in them. '* Old Jack " flanked us that 
time. 

We had a snow storm while we were in this camp, but 
as it did not turn cold, we got along very well. We first 
felt in this place the strict hand of Jackson. Our regi- 
ment and several others during the snow storm burned 
some of the rail fencing. Gen. Jackson seeing it, gave 
orders for each regiment to maul rails and put the fence 
up again, and if we repeated the burning, he would 
punish every man. 

While we were in this camp the reorganization of the 
army took place. This was a great misfortune to us, as 
many good oflicers were thrown out, and men who were 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 7=^ 

popular were elected in their stead; in many instances 
men utterly unfit to fill the places to which they were 
elected. 

F Company elected William H. Morgan, Captain; he 
was adjutant of the regiment. W. Granville Gray, First 
Lieutenant; G. W. Peterkin, Second Lieutenant, and E. 
G. Rawlings, Jr., Second Lieutenant. The regiment 
elected John M. Patton, Colonel; Richard H. Cunning- 
ham, Jr., Lieutenant Colonel, and John B. Moseley, 
Major. 

In one of the regiments of our army two men carried 
each a game cock. On a march, they perched on the 
shoulders of their owners, and seemed as well contented 
as if on their roost, and their crowing and the flapping 
of their wings always called forth a lusty cheer from the 
men. They, like everything else in the Confederate 
army, had their use. On a march passing a farmyard, 
one of those men would run out of ranks when he saw a 
lot of fowls, and his game cock would fly to the rooster 
at their head, and a battle would take place at once. The 
owner of the game cock would pick up both roosters, 
and quickly join his command. That night he would 
have stewed rooster for supper. 

I must not forget to tell about our umbrella man. In 
one of the companies of our regiment there was a ser- 
geant, who was an old country gentleman. When he 
left home he carried an umbrella. This he kept until he 
left us at this camp. During a march on a hot day 
one would see the old sergeant marching along at the head 
of his company with his umbrella hoisted ; the boys would 
call to him, " Come out of that umbrella." He took it 
kindly, and would generally reply that he knew they 
wanted it. During a rain when he hoisted it, he always 



76 OXE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

had numerous applications for a part of it. When it 
was not in use he carried it strapped to his knapsack. 

We stayed in this camp until the 23d, when we moved 
into the cove, a large opening within the outer mountain, 
and camped. We marched from this camp on the 30th, 
towards Harrisonhurg, across the Shenandoah a mile or 
two, returned and took a road on the right, and marched 
up the river to Port Republic, reaching it on ]\Iay 2d, 
after one of the most severe marches we had undergone. 
The road on which we marched was an ordinary country 
road, and it had been raining and snowing so much that 
it had become very soft, and when the artillery and 
wagons came along they sank up to their axles, and there 
was no way to get them out, unless the men put their 
shoulders to the wheels. This Gen. Jackson had fore- 
seen, as details of men were sent along with the wagons. 
As an evidence of Gen. Jackson's anxiety and solicitude, 
I saw him personally getting rocks, and putting them in 
the holes of this road. 

We were now retreating and advancing at the same 
time, a condition an army never undertook before. We 
were retreating from Banks. In my next I will show 
how we were advancing. The Great Valley Campaign 
is opening. 




1862 

He carried a knapsack, containing woolen shirt, undershirt, drawers, 
socks, soap, towel, toothbrush, and needle-case; oilcloth, blanket, extra 
shoes; haversack, tin cup, canteen and a tin can for cooking. 



Opposite page 76. 



: J 



X 



MC DO WELL 



On May 3d we left Port Republic. This is the com- 
mencement of that great Valley campaign, the most 
brilliant of modern times, and I do not know that it was 
ever surpassed. We marched across the Blue Ridge to 
the Central Railroad near Meechum's Depot, and there 
we took the cars and went to Staunton, arriving on the 
4th. On the 5th we were joined by the loth Va. Reg. 
Inf., which was assigned to the third brigade, and by the 
cadets from the Va. Military Institute. On the 6th we 
left Staunton, marching towards Buffalo Gap, and about 
iiidday joined Gen. Edward Johnson's force, that had 
i^llen back about six miles from Staunton. He had 
been in great danger before we arrived; a force in his 
front pressing him, and that of Banks threatening to 
march to his rear. With Jackson's coming all was 
changed. Near Buffalo Gap we went into camp for the 
night. The next morning the advance was continued, 
with Johnson's force in front. We encountered some 
of the enemy near Ryan's, and captured some stores, 
tents, etc., and a sutler's outfit. There was lying just 
outside of the sutler's store door about a bucketful of 
'' sutler's " coin, used by him in his traffic with the sol- 
diers, having his name, regiment, etc., and the value of 
the coin on it. The head of the column skirmished some 
with the enemy. We crossed the Shenandoah Mountain, 
and passed through the fortifications used by Gen. John- 
son while he was there. In descending this mountain, 

77 



78 ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

we could see a long line of the enemy in position on the 
opposite mountain. They, however, withdrew without 
firing, and we halted for the night. On the 8th we 
marched in ahout the same order — Gen. Jackson's com- 
mand in front, the second hrigade next, then the third 
brigade, the Stonewall brigade in the rear, the cadets 
marching, I think, in front of the Stonewall brigade. 
The second brigade was ascending the Bull Pasture 
Mountain in the afternoon, marching a few yards and 
halting, then a few yards and another halt, a march that 
fatigued men more than one in which they take an even 
step and march for a length of time. We had been 
marching in this way for such a long time, that evening 
was approaching, and it was rumored that we could not 
cross the mountain that night; that we would return to 
the valley, or bottom, and camp for the night, that the 
remainder of Jackson's division would join us there. 
The men had begun to think that there was some truth 
in the report. Soon the idea was discarded, and the 21st 
Va. Regt. was hurried up, and on reaching the top of 
the mountain we could hear firing, and, going a little 
farther, we could hear that it was heavy. We were 
hurried along the road until we reached the 31st Va. 
Regt. of Johnson's command, who were ordered to join 
Gen. Johnson, who was heavily engaged on our left, 
and we were formed in line of battle across the pike. 
Gen. Jackson now arrived and gave orders in person to 
Lt. Col. Cunningham, who was in command of the regi- 
ment. He told him to protect his men as much as pos- 
sible and to hold the position at all hazards, and ended 
by saying, in that .sharp way of his, " Tell your men they 
nuist hold the road." 'I'his was the only road by which 
Jackson could get his forces out if he should meet with 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 79 

disaster, and the road be taken, the enemy would be di- 
rectly in his rear. This was therefore the key to Jack- 
son's position, and if it were lost, all was lost. The men 
of the regiment now took their position behind trees and 
big rocks, the bottom in which we are being filled with 
them. As the men took their places it was with the 
determination that no enemy should drive them away. 
We were not called on for a test of our courage, a few 
skirmishers only appearing in our front, the enemy at- 
tacking us from our left, and next to the village of Mc- 
Dowell. It is said that Gen. Jackson had no idea of 
fighting this battle on the 8th ; he and Gen. Johnson had 
ridden to the front and examined the situation of the 
enemy, and they decided to wait until morning to make 
an attack; as Jackson had obtained information that the 
enemy could be attacked in their rear, and he intended 
to send a force to that point as soon as it became dark. 
Some of his staff had actually gone to our rear, to direct 
those troops where to camp. 

Milroy, who was in command of the enemy, received 
some reinforcements about noon, and thought best to 
make an attack at once on Gen. Johnson, not knowing 
of Jackson's presence. This was the cause of the bat- 
tle. 

The enemy made a gallant and spirited attack, but 
were promptly met, and, after some hard fighting, were 
driven back with loss. We lost a number of men and 
some valuable officers. Gen. Johnson was shot through 
the foot in the thickest of the fight. We had no artillery 
on our side, as we could get no position on the mountain 
side, and not more than two-thirds of Jackson's force 
was up in time to take part in the battle. The enemy 
used artillery from the other side of McDowell. When 



8o ONE OF JACKSOX'S FOOT CAVALRY 

we passed through the town the next day, we could see 
the holes they made in the ground, in order to so elevate 
their guns as to shoot at us on the mountain side. 

During the night the enemy retreated, burning some 
of their stores; some, however, falling into our hands. 
They threw a large quantity of ammunition into the 
creek from a bridge on the road. 

W'e followed in hot pursuit as far as Franklin, Pendle- 
ton Co., overtaking them on the afternoon of the nth. 
There the enemy took position in a narrow valley that 
ran between the mountain hills; these hills were covered 
with woods, and they had fired the woods on both sides 
of the valley in their front, and as soon as we came in 
sight, their artillery commenced firing at us. We could 
not locate the guns because of the smoke. Gen. Jack- 
son sent a small force to the enemy's rear to obstruct the 
road at the mountain gaps : the small force was driven 
off before it accomplished the work. We remained in 
front of the enemy, trying to find their position by 
skirmishers, but the fire and smoke from the burning 
woods preveiUed. 

Gen. Jackson, having other and more important jilans, 
abandoned the place about lo o'clock on the morning of 
the 13th. and retraced his march, going back through 
McDowell, marching about eleven miles, taking a road 
on the left leading U) Harrisonburg. We stopped on the 
15th, at Lebanon S|)rings, and remained thcre^on the 
1 6th to observe the national day of humiliation and 
prayer, ordered by the President of the Confederacy. 
On the 17th we resumed our march and stopped near 
Mossy Creek on Sunday, the i8th, where most of the 
command had religious worship. At early dawn on the 
19th we resumed the march, and reaching Bridgewater 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 8i 

crossed the Shenandoah river on a bridge made of 
wagons, that were placed in a row across the river, and 
planks laid from one wagon to the other, thus making a 
very good footbridge. On the 20th we passed through 
Harrisonburg, and were joined by Brig. Gen. Taylor's bri- 
gade of Louisianians, of Ewell's division. This brigade 
made an unusually good appearance, as the men were 
more regularly uniformed than any we had seen. 

When Gen. Jackson moved from Swift Run Gap, 
Gen. Ewell with his division and two regiments of cav- 
alry occupied a position in Culpepper Co., on the Rappa- 
hannock river. He moved his command to Swift Run 
Gap, and occupied the position just vacated by Jackson. 
This was to prevent Banks from making an attack on 
Jackson's rear, while he was advancing on Milroy. 
After Jackson had disposed of Milroy, he turned to the 
Valley, and the junction with Taylor shows that he had 
reached that great country ; and we went into camp on the 
Valley pike. 



XI 



TlIK VAI.LKV CAMPAIGN FRONT ROYAL. MIDDLETOWN, 

WINCH KSTKR, CROSS KEYS, PORT REPUBLIC 

On May 21st Jackson marched down the Valley pike. 
When we reached New Market we took the road lead- 
ing to the Luray valley, and formed a junction on the 
22(1, near Luray. with the balance of Gen. Ewell's com- 
mand, which had marched down the Luray valley from 
Swift Run Gap. Jackson now had the largest army he 
had ever had. He had brought Gen. Edward Johnson's 
force of six regiments and some artillery with him from 
the Shenandoah mountain, and had Ewell's command, 
and his old command. 

On the 23d Jackson's army left its bivouac near Lu- 
ray, taking the road to Front Royal, the head of the col- 
umn arriving about three or four o'clock in the afternoon. 
Gen. Jackson, as usual, made an immediate attack on 
the enemy, with the few men who were up. I lis eager- 
ness all through this cam])aign was surprising, and his 
escape hom death was almost a miracle. The enemy 
were found drawn up in line of battle in a strong posi- 
tion on the opposite side of the Shenandoah river. He 
had a line of skirmishers formed under his eye, and gave 
them the command to forward, and pushed them and 
some advance cavalry from the start. The Yanks find- 
ing things getting so hot, set fire to the two bridges, and 
were immediately charged by our cavalry and skirmish- 
ers, who saved the bridges in a damaged condition, 

crossed and were right in the midst of the enemy, Jack- 

8-' 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 83 

son along with them. The enemy made a bold stand and 
fought well, but they could not withstand Jackson's mode 
of warfare, and retreated to a farm orchard and buildings. 
Here they made a gallant stand ; but our two regiments 
of cavalr}^ from Ewell's command came up, were formed 
under Jackson's eye, and charged the protected enemy. 
The cavalry swept everything before them, and soon the 
entire force was killed and captured. In the charge at 
the bridge, the gallant Captain Sheets, Ashby's right hand, 
was killed. A large amount of stores and several hun- 
dred beef-cattle were captured. The second brigade did 
not come up until night, having marched twenty-seven 
miles. 

On the next morning, as our brigade passed the prison- 
ers that had been captured the evening before, one of 
them hallooed to us, " How are you, Tom? " Tom re- 
plied, " What are you doing in such bad company. Bob? " 
Tom, however, left ranks, and went inside the prison lines 
and had a hearty shake of the hand and a few minutes' 
conversation. Coming back he said it was his brother; 
literally is brother against brother. We kept up our 
march in the direction of Winchester until we reached 
Cedarville. Jackson's division with Taylor's brigade 
taking the road on the left, and the remainder of the 
army under Ewell's command keeping the direct road to 
Winchester. 

Company B of Mar3'land, of our regiment, who were 
mustered into service for one year, having served out 
their term of enlistment, left us at this point; and the 
2 1st Va. Regt. had only nine companies after that date. 

The force of Jackson's command that left the road 
at Cedarville marched to Middletown on the valley pike. 
When we came in sight of the pike, it was filled as far 



84 ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

as we could see from one end to the other, with Yankees 
on their way to Winchester, and we had surprised them 
on the march. We attacked at once, and cut their march- 
ing C(^himn in two; one part keeping on towards Win- 
chester, the other turning hack towards Strasburg. This 
part of their command the second brigade, was ordered 
to pursue, and we followed them until they had crossed 
the bridge over Cedar Creek. Then we were recalled and 
joined in the general pursuit. In marching through Mid- 
dletown, we found long lines of knapsacks behind the 
stone walls on the pike, as if whole regiments and bri- 
gades had unslung them in order to make a stand, and 
as soon as we attacked them, left in such a hurry as to 
leave them. 

Near Newtown we came to a long wagon train of the 
enemy's, standing on the side of the road. Some of the 
wagons had been fired by them. As we passed, one thing 
struck the writer about the contents of those wagons as 
singular. In every one that had articles in sight, I could 
see portions of women's clothing; in one wagon a bon- 
net, in another a shawl, a dress in the next, and in some 
all of a woman's outfit. I never saw the Yankee soldiers 
wearing this kind of uniform, and why they carried it 
was beyond my knowledge. Some of our men suggested 
that it had been confiscated from citizens of the valley. 
Marching a little farther we halted, the enemy having 
some artillery on the opposite hill shelling our n^ad. Our 
advance ran out some guns, and these, with our advanced 
skirmishers, soon had them retreating again. It was now 
dark, and we soon came to another long train of cap- 
tured wagons and a pontoon-bridge train ; the men looked 
at these with much interest, as they were the first we had 
seen. Marching a little farther we saw a string of fire 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 85 

along a stone wall, and the crack of muskets tells it was 
from the Yankee rear guard. They stopped at nearly 
every cross wall and gave us a volley. Gen. Jackson, 
who was always in front in an advance, came near being 
shot from one of these walls. 

We captured over one hundred wagons during the 
night, keeping up the pursuit without intermission until 
about dawn, when we halted and were allowed to rest 
an hour or two in our places along the road. Soon after 
daybreak on the 25th, we were on the move again, and 
when we reached the mill about two miles from Winches- 
ter, we saw that the enemy had made a stand on the hill 
behind it. We were met by one of our men, wounded, 
who was hatless, and had been shot in the head, the blood 
streaming down his face so freely that the poor fellow 
could hardly see. The second brigade took the left road 
here, and marching a short distance, filed to the right, 
and formed line of battle under the foothills on the left 
of the Stonewall brigade, the 21st Va. Regt. supporting 
the Rockbridge battery. 

We could see E well's command on the Front Royal 
road far away to our right, engaged, we locating his 
line by the smoke from his artillery and musketry; and 
could plainly see the Yankee shells bursting over his lines, 
and see his shells bursting over the Yankees' ! 

The enemy in our front were behind a stone wall that 
ran entirely across the open field, and a little way behind 
them were two batteries of artillery. A piece of the 
Rockbridge battery was run out on a knoll on our left, 
where they were met by grape and minie balls. Every 
man at the piece was killed or wounded. Nothing 
daunted, the battery ran forward another piece, but were 
more careful not to expose it, as in the case of the other 



86 ONE OF JACKSOX'S FOOT CAVALRY 

gun. The men were soon picked off by the infantry be- 
hind the wall, and they were forced to abandon both 
pieces. The pieces were safe, however, as they were in 
our line, and if the enemy wanted them they must fight 
for them. About this time Gen. Jackson made his ap- 
pearance, and rode to one of the hillocks in our front. 
Col. Campbell, commanding our brigade, accompanied 
him on horseback; Col. Patton of the 21st Va. Regt. and 
Col. Grigsby of the Stonewall brigade on foot. They 
were met by a hail of grape and musket balls. Camp- 
bell was wounded, Grigsby had a hole shot through his 
sleeve, and said some ugly w'ords to the Yankees for do- 
ing it. Gen. Jackson sat there, the enemy continuing 
to fire grape and musketry at him. It is right here that 
he issued his celebrated order to the commander of the 
Stonewall brigade : " I expect the enemy to occupy the 
hill in your front with artillery ; keep your brigade well 
in hand and a vigilant watch, and if such an attempt is 
made, — it must not be done, sir! clamp them on the 
spot." After satisfying himself as to the location of 
the enemy, he quietly turned his horse and rode back in 
a walk. Arriving at the road in our rear he called for 
Taylor's brigade, led them in person to their position, 
and gave Gen. Taylor his orders. Taylor says he replied, 
and added, " Yim had better go to the rear; if you go 
along the front in this way, some damned Yankee will 
shoot you!" He says that Gen. Jackson rode back to 
him at once, and said, " General, I am afraid you are a 
wicked fellmv. but I know you will do your duty." Tay- 
l(jr f(jrmed his brigade in the road about two or three 
hundred yards to our left. We were on his flank, and 
could see nearly the whole of his advance. His march 
was in an oi)en field, iIrmi nj) the steep foothill or high 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 87 

bank, then on a gentle rise to the top. Near the top 
stood the same stone wall that was in our front; the en- 
emy's line of battle extending beyond Taylor's left. As 
soon as Gen. Jackson saw that Taylor had commenced 
the advance, he rode back to the hillock in our front to 
watch the efifect of Taylor's attack. The enemy poured 
grape and musketry into Taylor's line as soon as it came 
in sight. Gen. Taylor rode in front of his brigade, 
drawn sword in hand, occasionally turning his horse, 
at other times merely turning in his saddle to see that his 
line was up. They marched up the hill in perfect order, 
not firing a shot! About half way to the Yankees he 
gave in a loud and commanding voice, that I am sure 
the Yankees heard, the order to charge ! and to and over 
the stone wall they went! At the same time Gen. Jack- 
son gave the command in that sharp and crisp way of 
his, ''After the enemy, men!" Our whole line moved 
forward on a run, the enemy broke and ran in all direc- 
tions. The Rockbridge artillerymen rushed to their two 
abandoned pieces, and gave them a parting salute. This 
charge of Taylor's was the grandest I saw during the 
war. There was all the pomp and circumstance of war 
about it, that was always lacking in our charges ; but not 
more effective than ours which were inspired by the 
old rebel yell, in which most of the men raced to be fore- 
most. 

Near Winchester the advance artillery, which had been 
firing from every elevation over the heads of our infan- 
try at the fleeing enemy, halted. A scene was witnessed 
that had no parallel in history that I know of. The men 
of several batteries unhitched the lead horses from can- 
nons and caissons, threw the traces over the horses' 
backs, mounted and charged the enemy through the town, 



88 ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

capturing and bringing back many prisoners! As we 
passed through Winchester the citizens were so glad 
to see us that men, women, and children ran into the 
streets to welcome us, wringing our hands with both of 
theirs, some even embracing the men, all crying for joy! 
The bullets from the enemy were flying through the 
streets, but this made no difference to these people. It 
seemed that joy had overcome fear. Such a scene I 
never witnessed. 

The second brigade followed the enemy about five 
miles below Winchester, where they were ordered to 
halt, and go into camp, other troops following the flee- 
ing enemy. Some of our men followed the enemy into 
Maryland, and were only stopped by Jackson, when he 
received notice of the effort of other forces of the enemy 
to get into his rear. 

The enemy, on this occasion, was commanded by Gen. 
Banks, from whom Gen. Jackson captured vast stores: 
several hundred beef cattle, several hundred wagons with 
their teams, eleven thousand new muskets in boxes that 
had never been opened, a large amount of ammunition, 
and over three thousand prisoners. Jackson lost a very 
small number of men, but he had led us for three weeks 
as hard as men could march. In an order issued to his 
troops the next day, he thanked us for our conduct, and 
referred us to the result of the campaign as justification 
for our marching so hard. Every man was satisfied with 
his a|)(jlogy; to accomplish so much with so little loss, we 
would march six months! The reception at Winchester 
was worth a wlmlc lifetime of service. 

On the 2Sth the 2ist Va. Rcgt. was ordered to Win- 
chester to take charge of the i)risoners; a job little rel- 
ished by the men, since we had only about two hundred 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 89 

and fifty men to guard about three thousand prisoners! 

The enemy had a large force in the valley of the South 
Fork of the Potomac under Fremont, and another on 
the Rappahanock river under McDowell. As soon as it 
was known that Jackson had routed Banks, the authori- 
ties in Washington gave these two commanders orders 
to march at once to Strasburg in the valley, which was 
twenty to thirty miles in Jackson's rear. There they 
were to form a junction, the united force of between 
thirty and thirty-five thousand to fall on Jackson, whip 
him, and capture his army. McDowell ordered Shields 
with his division to the valley. He moved promptly 
and rapidly, and actually burst into the Luray valley at 
Front Royal, before Jackson was advised of his move- 
ment! Learning that Fremont was moving on a road 
that led to Strasburg, Jackson divined their purpose, 
recalled his advance, and ordered the other troops to con- 
centrate at Strasburg. The Stonewall brigade w^as the 
advance of Jackson's army at that time; they were in 
the neighborhood of Harper's Ferry, the Second Va. 
Reg. had crossed the Shenandoah, and gone to Loudoun 
Heights. They received the order on the 31st to march 
above Winchester before they stopped. The brigade 
marched over thirty-five miles, and the Second Regiment 
over forty to accomplish it. 

On the 31st Jackson sent all his captured stores and 
his wagon train up the Valley pike, and our regiment 
with the prisoners followed in the afternoon. We 
marched to Cedar Creek, and stopped for the night; our 
guard line was around a large barn, in order to allow the 
prisoners to have the benefit of its shelter, as it was rain- 
ing. Some amusing scenes were witnessed the next 
morning. The barn had a large quantity of hay in it; 



90 ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

we went to the door and ordered all out ; we then called 
for those that were concealed to come out, or they would 
be punisiied when luund. None came; so some of our 
men were ordered to go in, and see if they could find 
any. Two or three were pulled out of the hay, amidst 
shouts from their comrades, as well as our men. Then 
we fixed bayonets and told them we were going to 
thrust the bayonets into the hay in the entire building. 
One or two came out ; and presently the bayonets began 
to be used. A few strokes, and a man is struck, but 
fortunately for him not hard enough to hurt him; he and 
several others then came out. 

We formed our line and commenced the march. At 
Strasburg we could see Ewell's division in line of battle 
on the right of the road, awaiting the advance of Fre- 
mont, whose skirmishers had made their appearance and 
were then engaged with Ewell's. 

Our prisoners became very much excited by this, and 
declared loudly that Jackson had met his match now, 
and would be badly whipped ; and it would be only a few 
hours before they would be retaken. After all the wag- 
ons and prisoners had ])assed, Jackson waited for 
the Stonewall brigade to arrive, and as soon as it had 
passed, Ewell was withdrawn and followed the column 
nj) the valley. Fremont made a big show at one time 
in Ewell's front, but hearing nothing from Shields, who 
for some reason had not made his apijcarance, he with- 
drew his men back into the mountain fastness, his skir- 
mishers following I:', well a short distance. 

The plan to bag Jackson at Strasburg had failed: 
" Old Jack " was too quick for them ; besides, he had some 
plans of his own. 

The next day, June 2i\, Fremont followed us in hot 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 91 

pursuit, and so closely that our guard and the prisoners, 
from the tops of some of the hills in our march, could 
plainly see his advance. 

Reaching the Shenandoah at Mt. Jackson, Jackson 
gave Col. Ashby orders to burn the bridge across that 
stream, after all our army had passed. Col. Ashby left 
this to one of his officers and his men to do, but they 
were driven off by the enemy before it was accomplished. 
Ashby learning this, took a few men with him, went back, 
drove off the Yanks, fired the bridge, and then retired; 
but as he rode off his famous white horse was shot! 
This beautiful and great horse, that was known by the 
enemy as well as it was known in our own army, was 
thought by the Yanks to be enchanted. I have heard 
their prisoners repeatedly say that they have often taken 
deadly aim, sometimes resting their guns on a fence or 
wall, at that horse and its rider, and the ball had no ef- 
fect on either! He was a grand horse, and after being 
shot, carried Col. Ashby about a mile from the bridge 
before he fell dead. This was the first intimation he 
had of his horse being wounded. 

Shields marched up the Luray valley with the intention 
of getting into Jackson's rear at New Market, but " Old 
Jack " defeated that by burning the White House bridge 
over the Shenandoah. Shields continued his march up 
that valley, expecting to force a fight with Jackson as 
soon as he and Fremont should unite, somewhere in the 
neighborhood of Port Republic. Again Jackson frus- 
trated their plans by turning on Fremont at Cross Keys 
on June 7th, and easily whipped him. In the combat 
of the 6th we lost the great Ashby! He was killed 
while leading some infantry, who had been sent to the 
front to aid him. At this time he was the most gallant 



92 OXE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

and conspicuous cavalry officer we had. Gen. Jackson 
thought a great deal of him, and said that he was a 
born soldier, and also seemed to have the faculty of 
knowing zchat the enemy were doing, and when they 
were doing it. The army and the Confederacy could ill 
afford to lose him, and I think his loss was never re- 
paired. In this short time his name was known all over 
the Confederacy, and amongst the enemy just as well. 
He was a tower of strength to us, as he was more feared 
by the enemy than any man on our side at that time. 
His remains were carried to the University of Virginia, 
and buried there. 

After defeating Fremont on the 7th, Jackson sent 
some of his troops to Port Rei)ublic on that night, only 
leaving in Fremont's front Trimble's brigade and the 
Secoxid brigade, both small, under command of Brig. 
Gen. Trimble. His orders from Jackson were to hold 
his position as long as he could, and at the same time 
to make as big a show as possible; if he were forced back, 
he should fight at every fence, wall, ditch, etc., and keep 
the enemy back as long as possible. If he could do this, 
until ten o'clock in the morning, Jackson would be back 
to reinforce him. H he were forced back to the bridge, 
he should burn it. 

At the break of day on the 8th, Jackson commenced 
his movement against Shields. He crossed the bridge 
over Middle river with his troops, marched thr(^ugh the 
town to the South river, over which he made a bridge of 
wagons, like the one on whicli we crossed at Bridgewater, 
a few weeks before. About the middle of the stream, 
where the i)lanks running from one wagon to the next 
should have overlapped, only one of the planks did so, 
the others lacking a few inches of meeting. When the 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 93 

men in the front reached this place in crossing, those 
planks tilted, and the men were thrown into the river. 
Those who followed seeing this, refused to cross on those 
planks, and waited for each other as they crossed on the 
one. This caused a great delay in the crossing. When 
Jackson found his troops did not come up as quickly as 
they usually did, and learned the cause, he ordered the 
men to ford the river. This was a serious delay for 
Jackson, as time was most important to him, and there 
is little doubt this little incident ruined Jackson's plans, 
and saved Fremont from utter rout. After getting his 
troops over this stream, he hastened them into position, 
and launched them against Shields; and after a severe 
battle Shields was utterly routed, Jackson taking many 
of his guns and many prisoners. But time that waits 
for no man had been lost ! 

Fremont, hearing the heavy firing in the direction of 
Shields, knew that he and Jackson were engaged, and 
thought that Jackson's force was divided. He made a 
demonstration in his front, then made an attack on Trim- 
ble, but could not drive him a foot. He now brought up 
more troops, lengthened his lines on both sides, and in 
this way forced him back. They fought all the way to 
the bridge, and it was late in the morning before they 
were driven to the bridge ; after crossing that they burned 
it. 

Jackson, recalling his troops from the pursuit of 
Shields, was hurrying across the battlefield to Trimble, 
whom he had not heard from, when his army was fiercely 
assailed by Fremont's artillery. He was on the other 
side of the river, and had placed his artillery on the high 
banks that overlooked the battlefield of Shields. Jack- 
son withdrew his men behind the hills for protection and 



94 ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

there heard of Trimble's inability to keep the enemy back 
for a longer time. Without the accident at the bridge 
of wagons, there is not the least doubt of Jackson being 
able to carry out his plan to the very letter, and Fremont 
would have been wiped off the face of the earth. As 
it teas, the campaign ended in a blaze of glory that was 
sounded from one end of the world to the other! 

Jackson's loss with Shields was heavy, and amounted 
to as much as he had previously lost in the campaign. 
The loss of Shields was also heavy, and Fremont's loss 
was largely in excess of Jackson's. 

Jackson stayed behind the hills, in the neighborhood 
of Brown's Gap, until the 12th, when he marched up the 
Shenandoah to the neighborhood of Weyer's Cave, and 
camped in a beautiful country. In the meantime, Fre- 
mont had become frightened, and retreated towards 
Winchester. This ended the great Valley Campaign. 

One of the Yankee prisoners marched at my side daily, 
talking about what he was going to do with me when 
they were retaken, and how he would take care of my 
gun. While we were uneasy all the time, for fear they 
might make a break for liberty, we never had a thought 
of their being rescued except on one occasion. On the 
5th, after marching a short distance past Port Republic, 
we halted, and were told that we would camp there for 
the night. While our lieutenant colonel was looking over 
the ground, an order came from Gen. Jackson for us to 
move on, and a few cavalry were ordered to report to 
Col. Cunninghaiu. This did not excite suspicion amongst 
the guard, but al)out nine o'clock one of our officers came 
to mc and whisi)ere(l in my ear that the enemy were in 
port Republic, and f must keep the strictest watch, and 
under no circumstances let a prisoner escaj)e. I did not 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 95 

know what to think. The enemy in Port Republic meant 
that they were between us and Jackson, and the prison- 
ers' expectation of release might be realized. We 
marched until about midnight, and went into camp near 
New^ Hope for a few hours' rest. The next morning 
we were up early, and marched to Waynesboro. 

The report of the enemy being in Port Republic on the 
5th was untrue, but the advance of Shields did enter the 
village soon on the morning of the 6th, and came near 
capturing Gen. Jackson. There are several versions of 
his escape, but all agree that it was by the merest chance. 
Most of his staff, that were w^ith him at the time, were 
captured. This body of the enemy, it is said, learned 
the direction the prisoners had been sent, and part of 
them made an attempt to follow us, but were driven 
back by some of our artillery, supported by a small body 
of infantry. 

We remained in Waynesboro, and heard the cannon- 
ading at Cross Keys and Port Republic. The prisoners 
were very excited, it would have taken very little to stam- 
pede them : every man was on duty, and it was a great 
strain on our men; and when more prisoners were 
brought us, with the information that Jackson had de- 
feated Fremont, the relief was almost overpowering. 
Amongst a small squad of prisoners, brought us here by 
some cavalry, was an Englishman, captured on the 6th, 
calling himself Sir Percy Wyndham. He was a colonel 
in the Yankee army, and, it is said, requested to be sent 
to the valley, as he would capture the rebel Ashby the 
first time he got within striking distance of him. Ashby 
with some of his cavalry met Sir Percy near Harrison- 
burg and almost the first man taken by Ashby was this 
same Sir Percy. Fie was made to march on foot with 



96 OXE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

other prisoners from the place of his capture to Waynes- 
boro, and when he reached us, was the most exasperated 
man I had seen for a long time. He said that in his 
army (the English), when an officer of his rank was 
captured, he was taken charge of by an officer of like 
rank, and treated accordingly, until exchanged or paroled. 
Here he was marched through mud and mire, and that, 
too, by a rebel private; it was enough to make a saint 
swear. W'e treated him as other prisoners, making no 
distinction in his favor as he thought we ought, as he 
had come all the way across the ocean to capture Ashby ! 

On the evening of the 8th we conducted our prisoners 
from Waynesboro, crossing the Blue Ridge at Rockfish 
Gap. They did not give up hope of being retaken un- 
til they had crossed the mountain, when they became as 
meek as lambs, and gave us very little trouble. We 
reached North Garden depot, on the Orange and Alex- 
andria R. R., on the 9th, and went into cam]). Here 
one of the prisoners made a break for liberty; the guard 
fired at him, but missed, so he got away. 

We tr)r)k the cars on the nth, and went to Lynch- 
burg, marched our prisoners througli the town to the 
fair grounds, where we guarded them until the i8th. 
We turned them over to the city guard, and went by rail 
to Charlottesville, leaving the train, however, about a 
mile from the town. We camped on the side of the rail- 
road, staying there until Jackson marched by on his way 
to Richmond, when we rejoined our brigade. It was the 
unanimous desire of the regiment never to have charge 
of prisoners again. 



XII 

THE SEVEN days' CAMPAIGN 

On June 17, 1862, Jackson broke camp in the valley, 
and marched towards Gordonsville. As he passed 
through Charlottesville on the 21st, our regiment re- 
joined its brigade. We were plied with many questions 
as to the destination of the army, and we made as many 
inquiries of our comrades in the brigade, but all agreed 
that w^e knew nothing. We guessed that on reaching 
Gordonsville we would file to the left, and fall upon the 
enemy under McDowell at Fredericksburg, or our desti- 
nation was Washington, and this circuitous route w^as 
taken to mystify the enemy. None of us had a single 
thought of Richmond. Why then send Whiting's divi- 
sion to the valley to join Jackson? When we reached 
Gordonsville, we kept the same road, and when we ar- 
rived at Louisa C. H., some cars came along on the Cen- 
tral R. R. and took up the troops that were marching in 
the rear, and carried them to Beaver Dam depot. These 
cars returned, and took up those in the rear again, and 
carried them to the same place. In this way Jackson 
would help his men with cars on a march. 

We now decided that we were going to Richmond to 
help Lee ; and that the sending of W^hiting to the valley 
was a ruse to have two effects, one on McClellan at 
Richmond, and one on the enemy in the valley; and, it 
is said, that it was successful in both directions. Jack- 
son's men realized that we would have to do some des- 

97 



98 ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

perate fight incf, since we knew we could not stay in Rich; 
mond ; and the only way for us to leave was to attack 
McClellan, and drive him away. 

We reached Ashland on the 23th, and received orders 
to cook three days' rations. The next morning we 
marched as soon as the column could be formed, leaving 
the road we had been following, and taking one on the 
left, going in the direction of the Central R. R. crossing 
near Peak's turnout ; marching to the neighborhood of 
Pole Green Church, we stacked arms and rested for the 
night. We saw the first signs of the Yankees' presence 
in our march to-day: the telegrapli wires were cut not far 
from Ashland. In the evening, Gen. Stuart's cavalry, 
which had joined us, had a brisk skirmish in our front, 
killing, wounding, and capturing some of the enemy. 
Those prisoners were the first of IMcClcllan's army that 
we saw. 

We were up and moving early the next morning. At 
Pole Green Church we found that Stuart's men needed 
the assistance of our infantry, in order to clear the way. 
Some regiments were ordered forward, and soon cap- 
tured nearly all the Bucktail regiment of Pcnnsylvanians 
at Hundley's corner. We did not know whether Mc- 
Clellan had learned that Jackson was in the neighbor- 
hood, or thought the column was a part of Lee's force. 
We continued the march now without any obstruction, 
and soon we heard the musketry and artillery of I^ong- 
street and Hill, commencing the attack on McClellan at 
Gaines' mill ; and we learned that we were about to unite 
with them in an attack. We had thought until now that 
they were on the snuth side of the Chickahominy, and 
that we were to make the attack from the north side 
alone. 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 99 

Our march was kept up in quick time, the firing be- 
coming heavier in our front, and was the heaviest mus- 
ketry I heard during the war. We marched on, and 
towards evening hahed and retraced our steps until we 
came to a road we had passed some time before. This 
road was to the east, and we kept it until our divi- 
sion halted, was ordered to load, and a line of battle 
was formed and ordered forward through a pine thicket 
so dense that a man ten yards in front could not be seen. 

The Second Brigade was on the right of the division, 
the Stonewall next, and the Third Brigade on the left. 
The division was about the center of Gen. Lee's line of 
battle, and in going through the thicket the division, 
having no guides, lost its way ; our orders being to press 
forward to the firing in front. The division obeyed; 
but, very singularly, the Stonewall Brigade crossed the 
line of march, and when it reached the firing line, it was 
on the left, coming up just in time to help D. H. Hill, 
whose line was giving way. The united force swept 
everything before it. The Third Brigade, maintaining 
nearly a straight line, came up to Whiting's line as it 
was falling back, and their united efforts drove the 
enemy at that point. When the Second Brigade emerged 
from the thicket, they had. like the Stonewall, taken a 
long swing, but towards the right, and we entered an 
open field. Not far ahead we saw two men on horse- 
back, who seemed to be in a consultation, and, as we 
approached them, we recognized at once our beloved 
leader, Gen. Lee, on his well remembered gray, and 
President Davis. We passed them with a cheer, and 
they recognized it by raising their hats. Here are two 
of the most notable men of the Confederacy in close 
consultation on the battlefield, and, from their appearance, 



loo ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

no one would imagine that the fortunes of the war were 
on their shoulders. 

President Davis looked calm and self-possessed, and 
seemed to look on us with interest, it being the first 
time he had seen our brigade. 

Gen. Lee was as calm and dignified as ever in giving 
us the salute. 

We went straight ahead, and not long afterwards we 
came in sight of some of our troops, who seemed in 
confusion, and giving ground. Our brigade com- 
mander, Lt. Col. Cunningham of the 21st Regt., rode 
forward to the brigade commanded by Brig. Gen. An- 
derson of Longstreet's division, on the extreme right of 
our line. I was told he said to Gen. Anderson that his 
brigade was coming, and he would take the front. Gen. 
Anderson thanked him, and said, that because of the 
arrival of Jackson's men, he could finish what his bri- 
gade had commenced. He moved his men to the right*, 
and made an attack on the enemy's flank, while the 
Second Brigade kept them busy in front; and when An- 
derson's men gave the yell, we went forward on a run, 
and the works were carried by Anderson in gallant 
style. 

This was the strongest point I saw occupied by either 
army during the war. In the enemy's front for half a 
mile was an open field, with a hill gently sloping to- 
wards them, at the foot of which a creek ran that had 
washed its banks perpendicular, about six to eight feet 
deep: it was eight to ten feet wide. When we jumped 
in, we could not get out without assistance. We threw 
our guns on the side next the enemy. One comrade 
then helped another out, and when he had scaled the 
bank, he stooped or lay down and pulled another out. 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY loi 

It was almost level from this creek for about fifty to one 
hundred yards, where there was a steep and high hill. 
This hill was covered by a large and open wood. At its 
foot a rail fence ran, which had been converted into an 
excellent breastwork. This was the enemy's first line 
of battle. About twenty-five yards up the hill was a 
second line of breastworks, made of logs and dirt, and 
about the same distance in its rear, on top of the hill, 
was another line behind similar breastworks, and behind 
this was their artillery, which had a full sweep at us 
as soon as we entered the clearing in their front. 
Charging this point, Anderson on the flank, we in front, 
we drove the enemy out, and, on top of the hill, we 
entered a field that was filled with Yanks and Confed- 
erates. The line on the left of us having been carried 
too, every man was yelling and shooting into the mass 
of the enemy as fast as he could load; this was con- 
tinued' until it was so dark that we could not see. 

The position taken by Jackson's division in this battle 
is rather remarkable. Our orders were to march right 
ahead to the firing, as before stated. Not having guides, 
in our moving about in the thicket, the brigades finally 
emerged apart, and in going to the front, each brigade 
moved, as was thought, in a straight line; but one went 
to the extreme right, another near the center, and the 
other to the extreme left, yet each reached its destina- 
tion when assistance was greatly needed. Thus it seems 
that the old division, which had such a bad start, put 
itself into a better place than '' Old Jack " himself had 
ordered, and played no small part in the success of this 
great battle. 

Late in the night we lay down on the hard-won field 
to take some rest, but the cries and groans of the 



I02 OXE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

wounded kept many of us awake all night. In the morn- 
ing we could see the result of the battle: the greatest 
slaughter of the enemy in the field, the dead and 
wounded numbering thousands. A large number of 
cannon were captured in this field ; I don't know how 
many. I counted fifteen on one hill, standing just as 
the enemy left them: on this same hill I saw the first 
machine gun, with its handle to turn out a bullet at 
every revolution. I saw another, which was captured 
during the seven days' fight, the only ones seen by the 
writer during the war. 

During the night the enemy made good their escape 
across the Chickahominy, destroying the bridge in our 
front. Replacing this, so tliat we could cross, delayed 
Jackson's command all day. The enemy sent up a large 
balloon for observation during the day, and some of 
our guns fired at it. Whether it had any effect towards 
making its occupants retire or not, I cannot say, but they 
were up only a short time. 

Longstreet and A. P. Hill crossed higher up the 
stream, and went in pursuit of the enemy, and 
Magruder's troops made an attack on the enemy in the 
evening near Savage Station. 

The bridge being ready on the morning of June 30, 
Jackson's command crossed early to the south side of 
the stream, passing in our march the house McClellan 
had used as his heacUpiarters, and thence on to the Wil- 
liamsburg turnpike. Here we passed some of Gen. Lee's 
troops, who had halted for us to take the front. We 
created much excitement and enthusiasm, as we were 
just from Jackson's brilliant valley campaign, and many 
remarks and cheers greeted us. I remember that our 
captain had a saber but no scabbard, and the remark 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 103 

was made several times along the march, " See there, the 
officers don't even carry scabbards for their swords." 
'* No wonder they march so, the men carry no baggage." 
As a general thing, our knapsacks had been discarded 
long ago. We passed the field on which Magruder 
made the attack on the enemy the evening before, and 
saw many of the enemy's dead along the road, and it 
was strange that nearly every one was shot near the 
heart. Reaching the toll gate, we saw a man sitting on 
a box leaning against the gate post, and soon discovered 
that he was dead. We passed Savage farm, and saw 
hundreds of tents standing, which were used by the 
enemy for hospitals, and nearly all were full of sick and 
wounded of the enemy. 

We marched to the vicinity of White Oak Swamp, 
where skirmishers were thrown forward; some of our 
artillery was brought into position, and firing com- 
menced. Gen. Jackson ascertained that the enemy had 
made a stand here. We were moved from place to 
place, looking for a place to cross ; at night we lay down 
on the ground for a little rest. Early in the morning 
we resumed the march, as the enemy had left during 
the night. Crossing the swamp on a bridge of logs, we 
followed in hot pursuit, and found the enemy in position 
at Malvern Hill. Gen. Jackson promptly formed his 
line of battle ; our division in a wood on the right of the 
road, in three lines, the second brigade being in the third 
line. The enemy shelled us terribly the whole time. 
Just about dark the second brigade was ordered to 
march by the left flank, and entering the road, we 
marched towards Malvern Hill, crossed a creek, and 
soon were in a field at the edge of which we halted, 
staying there the remainder of the night. I sat down 



I04 OXE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

in a fence corner to get a little rest, and had not been 
there long before one of onr men, wounded, came along, 
and was begging for water. Having some in my can- 
teen, I stopped him and gave him a drink. He sat 
down and comj^lained very much of being weak. I gave 
him something to eat from my scanty rations; he seemed 
very thankful, and revived a little, but soon complained 
of being cold. I unrolled my blanket, and made him 
lie down, and covered him witli it ; a little while after 
I got cold too, so crept under the blanket with the 
wounded man. fell asleep, and did not wake until morn- 
ing. T then crawled from under the blanket as care- 
fully as I could, to avoid disturbing him. went to the 
creek, took a wash, filled my canteen, and brought it to 
my friend, tried to arouse him, but he was dead. 

The enemy fled during the night, and my division 
was ordered back, stopping at Willis' Church the re- 
mainder of the day. It had commenced to rain, and 
was very disagreeable. While we were here, T went to 
the spring for water, but found a dead Yankee lying 
with his face in the .spring. I suppose the poor fellow 
had been wounded in the fight two days before with 
Longstreet's command, and going to the spring, had 
leaned down to drink, and death overtook him. The 
next morning we moved in i)nrsuit of the enemy, and 
found them at Harrison's Landing on James river, 
busily fortifying. Jackson's command remained there, 
most of the time in line of battle, until the 8th, when 
our division was moved back one and one-half miles to a 
creek, where Gen. Jackson said he would like all of us 
to take a bath, and would give us several hours to do 
it. This was much needed; because of the constant 
duty and scarcity of water, some of the men had not 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 105 

washed their faces and hands for five or six days. 

We marched from this place to White Oak Swamp, 
where we rested for the night; and the next morning 
Jackson's command took up its march for Richmond, 
marching around the city on its northeast side. During 
this march we moved along the York River Railroad 
some distance. We saw many large warehouses in 
which the enemy had stores. Some were burning, others 
were partially burned, and some were captured before 
they were fired. 

Jackson's division was marched to Morris farm on 
the Mechanicsville turnpike, and there went into camp 
on the nth. Gen. Jackson on the next day gave F 
Company permission to spend the day in Richmond. 
To most of the company that was a great day, many of 
them not having been in the city since they left it a year 
ago. What changes had taken place in one year. We 
left Richmond a year ago in new uniforms, with the 
fair complexion of city men, some frail and spare, none 
of us with one exception having seen anything of real 
war. We returned now ruddy and brown, with the 
health and hardness that outdoor living creates, and 
were veterans. Our welcome was an ovation, and it 
made us feel our standing in public esteem. The only 
thing we regretted as our time closed was that the day 
did not last forever. 

We stayed at Morris farm several days, taking a much 
needed rest, the first we had had since April 30th. Dur- 
ing the time that ended now at Morris farm, Jackson's 
men had marched over five hundred and fifty miles, 
fought nine battles, many skirmishes, captured several 
thousand prisoners, large quantities of small arms and 
cannon, wagons, and stores. 



io6 OXE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

At the commencement of the war, the Southern army 
was as poorly armed as any body of men ever had been. 
In the infantry, my own regiment as an example, one 
company had Springfield muskets, one had Enfield, one 
had Mississippi rifles, the remainder the old smooth bore 
flint-lock musket that had been altered to a percussion 
gun. The cavalry was so badly equipped that hardly a 
company was uniform in that particular; some had 
sabers, nothing more, some had double-barrel guns, some 
had nothing but lances, while others had something of 
all. One man with a saber, another with a pistol, an- 
other with a nuisket, another a shotgun, not half a dozen 
men in the company armed alike. The artillery was 
better, but the guns were mostly smooth bore, and some 
of the horses had wagon and plow harness. It did not 
take long for the army of Northern Va. to arm itself 
with better material. When Jackson's troops marched 
from the valley for Richmond to join Lee in his attack 
on McClellan, they had captured enough arms from the 
enemy to replace all that were inferior, and after the 
battles around Richmond, all departments of Lee's army 
were as well armed. After that time, the captures from 
the enemy kept us up to their standard. Our amnunii- 
tion was always inferior to theirs. 

Towards the close of the war, nearly all equipments 
in the army of Northern Va. were articles captured 
from the ^'ankees. All the wagons were captured, and 
to look at them on a march, one would not kntnv that 
they belonged to the Confederacy, many of them hav- 
ing the name of the brigade, division and corps of the 
Yankee army branded on them. Nearly all the nuiles 
and horses had U. S. branded on them; our ambulances 
were from the same generous provider, our tents also, 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 107 

many of them having the name of the company, etc., 
branded on them; most of the blankets were those 
marked U. S., also the rubber blankets or cloths; the 
very clothing that the men wore was mostly captured, 
as we were allowed to wear their pants, underclothing 
and overcoats. As for myself, I purchased only one 
hat, one pair of shoes, and one jacket after 1861. We 
captured immense quantities of provisions, and nearly 
all the " hard tack " and pork issued to us was cap- 
tured. 

On the 1 6th we received orders to march to Rich- 
mond, where we took cars of the Richmond, Fredericks- 
burg and Potomac R. R., and on reaching the junction, 
were transferred to the Central Railroad and conveyed 
to Louisa C. H. This route was necessitated by the 
enemy having destroyed a portion of the Central Rail- 
road between Richmond and the junction, now known 
as Doswells, and it had not been repaired at that time. 



XIII 



CEDAR RUN 



We remained at Louisa C. H. a day, and marched to 
Gordonsville, then to Liberty Mills, then to Mechanics- 
ville, not far from Louisa C. H., staying two or three 
days at each place. On August 4th we marched 
again to Liberty Mills. These movements were occa- 
sioned by reports from the enemy in our front, who had 
raised a new army, " The Army of Virginia," com- 
manded by Gen. Pope, who said he had been doing great 
things in the Western army. In his order to his troops 
on taking command he said he had never seen anything 
" but the backs of the rebels, his headquarters were in 
the saddle, and he wanted the talk of guarding the rear 
of his army stopped, as an invading army had no rear, 
it was useless to make provision to look after communi- 
cations in that direction." in less than a month he 
found out that his army did not have any rear, as Jack- 
son had quietly slipped into Manassas, and gobbled it 
up. Gen. Stuart with his cavalry had previously raided 
his headquarters at Catlett's Station, cai)turing his 
oftlcial papers and his military dress coat. 

On August /th we left Liberty Mills and marched 
to Orange C. II. \\c were up early the next morning 
and on the march. During the day we were joined by 
A. V. Hill's division and Stafford's Louisiana Brigade. 
Oura<lvance guard reaching l^arnett's bOrd on the 
Kapidan river, ftjund the enemy in their front, and 
ofTcring some resistance to our crossing. Near the ford 

108 




SECOND CAPTAIN RICHARD H, CUNNINGHAM, JR. 



Opposite page lOS. 



"»?. 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 109 

we passed a " Quaker cannon," which our advance had 
rigged up. It was the hind part of a wagon with a 
black log on it. Our men ran this out on a hill in full 
sight of the Yanks, and advanced at the same time with a 
cheer. The enemy left the ford in a hurry. They could 
not stand the sight of the cannon. Soon after crossing 
the river, I saw one of our cavalrymen with a saber 
wound; his ear was nearly severed from his head. 

On crossing the river, we took the direct road to 
Culpeper C. H., forded Robertson river in the after- 
noon, and about sunset went into camp in a wood near 
the road. About midnight we were awakened by the 
firing of musketry, and the ting of balls falling amongst 
us. Each man rose up and took his place in ranks 
more quickly than I ever saw it done; and when the 
order was given to " take arms," every man had his 
7"un ready for action. We marched to the road and 
alted, to await orders from headquarters. The firing 
.oon ceased. It resulted from the surprise of some 
Yankee cavalry on their way from Madison C. H. to 
Culpeper C. H. They were ignorant of our advance, 
and, being halted by our guard, they began to retreat, 
and after a brisk skirmish made off as soon as they 
could extricate themselves. In this affair my regiment 
got into ranks directly from their beds, and when we 
marched back to our camp, the laugh began; and those 
old Confederates made the woods ring with shouts. 
Some of the men were in their shirt sleeves, some hav- 
ing on them nothing but shirts, some with one shoe on, 
etc., hardly one with a hat, but every man was in his 
place. 

On the next morning, August 9th, we resumed the 
march, Ewell's division in front, Jackson's next, and 



no OXE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

Mill bringing up the rear. About one o'clock we heard 
the boom of cannon in our front, and we knew that 
Pope had made a stand. The column hurried up, 
Ewcll filing to the right, and sending the first line of 
skirmishers forward. 

" Peace and beauty all around us, death and danger just 
ahead, 
On our faces careless courage, in our hearts a sombre 
dread. 

" Then the skirmish line went forward, and the only sounds 

we heard 
Were the hum of droning insects and the carol of a bird; 
Till, far off, a flash of fire, and a little cloud went by. 
Like an angel's mantle floating down from out an azure 

sky. 

'* Then a shell went screaming o'er us, and the air at once 

was rife 
With a million whispering hornets, swiftly searching for 

a life ; 
And the birds and insects fled away before the * rebel yell,' 
The thunder of the battle, and the furious flames of hell." 

Our division was hurried along the road some dis- 
tance, the Second Brigade marched to the front of the 
column and halted, the roll was called, we were ordered 
to load, and, after a few minutes of rest, we resumed 
the hurried march. Going a short distance, the men on 
the left of the road cleared the way for a cannon ball 
that came bounding along like a boy's ball. The force 
with which it was traveling is indicated by its striking 
the stump of a tree, glancing up, and going out of sight. 
A little farther on we came to four of our men lying 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY iii 

in the road dead, killed by this same ball. The road 
was fairly alive now with shot and shell from the enemy, 
and we filed to the left into the w^ood, went about one 
hundred yards, filed to the right, and continued our 
march, parallel to the road. We passed an old Con- 
federate standing beside a small sapling, with one hand 
resting on it, and we asked him, '' What is the matter? " 
He said, '*' I don't want to fight. I ain't mad with any- 
body." This put all in a good humor, and amidst 
laughter and cheers we continued the march. After 
going several hundred yards w^e halted and were ordered 
to lie down. The enemy w^ere shelling this wood ter- 
ribly, and our Captain Morgan was killed by them. 
After a short stay we were ordered forward, and halted 
on the edge of the wood, beside the main road that ran 
north and south. The woods we occupied extended 
north about one hundred and fifty yards to a field. This 
field continued along the road for about two hundred 
yards to another wood. 

The Second Brigade formed a line of battle in the 
corner or angle of the wood, the 21st Va. Regt. on the 
right, the 48th Va. next, both facing east, the 42d Va. 
next, and, at right angles to the road and facing north, 
the Irish battalion next, forming the left. The brigade 
thus formed a right angle. In front of the 21st and 
48th there w^as a large field surrounded by a rail fence, 
the road running between the wood and fence. In the 
open about three or four hundred yards obliquely on our 
left there was a corn field, full of Yankees, w^ell con- 
cealed. Another line had formed at right angles to the 
main road and across it, its right concealed in the second 
wood, which was beyond the small field in front of the 
42d Regt. and the Irish battalion. As soon as we 



112 ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

reached the road, we saw a line of Yankees advancing 
from the corn field, the 21st and 48th opened fire on 
them at once; and the battle of Cedar Run had com- 
menced in earnest. We caused the advancing line to 
halt, and the fighting was terrific. The Second Brigade 
was alone at this point, since Jackson had not liad time 
to extend his line. 1lie Yankees now made an advance 
with the line that had been concealed, in front of the 
Irish battalion and the 42d Regt. Their line being 
longer than ours, they swung around the Irish battalion 
in our rear, and occupied the position from which we 
had advanced only a few minutes before. The 21st and 
48th were fighting the force at and near the corn field, 
although it had been strengthened by the second line; 
still we were fighting with such effect that we kept this 
force back. A part of the force, advancing against the 
left of the brigade, were firing directly into the flank of 
the 48th and 21st Regiments, and were making terrible 
havoc in their ranks. Col. Cunningham of the 21st, 
who was sick, came along the line, walking and leading 
his horse, and said to the men as he passed that the 
enemy were in our rear and he desired to get us out of 
the i)osition we were in, and we must follow him. His 
voice was one of loud compass and great command, but 
he could hardly speak, and as he passed me he said, 
" John, help me get the men out of this, 1 can't talk 
loudly." I induced all the men near me to face down 
(southward) the road, and we started. After a few 
stei)s, I saw a ^'ankee sergeant step into the road about 
fifty or seventy-five yards ahead (south) of us. and at 
the same time heard the firing of rapitlly approaching 
enemy in our rear. A great dread filled me for Jack- 
son, because I had seen him at this six)t only a moment 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 113 

before. The sergeant, having his gun in his left hand, 
his drawn sword in his right, turned up the road to- 
wards us, and approached. A Yankee private stepped 
into the road just ahead of him; this being the road on 
which we marched to get to our position, it showed that 
the enemy were not only in our front, flank, and rear, 
but actually had the second brigade surrounded. The 
Yankee sergeant did not stop his advance towards us 
until he actually took hold of one of the men of our 
regiment and pulled him out of ranks, and started to- 
wards the rear with his prisoner. One of our men, who 
was in the act of capping his gun, raised it to his 
shoulder, fired, and the sergeant fell dead not ten feet 
away. By this time the road was full of Yankees, and 
there was such a fight as was not witnessed during the 
war; guns, bayonets, swords, pistols, fence rails, rocks, 
etc., were used all along the line. I have heard of a 
'' hell spot " in some battles, this surely was one. Our 
color bearer knocked down a Yankee with his flag staff, 
and was shot to death at once. One of the color guard 
took the flag, and he also was killed; another, Roswell 
S. Lindsay of F Company, bayoneted a Yankee, and was 
immediately riddled with balls, three going through him. 
Four color bearers were killed with the colors in their 
hands, the fifth man flung the riddled flag to the breeze, 
and went through the terrible battle unhurt. Col. Cun- 
ningham had crossed the road leading his horse, pulled 
down the fence, passed through the gap into the field, 
started to mount his horse, his foot in the stirrup, when 
he was struck by a bullet, and fell back dead, his horse 
receiving his death wound at the same time. It was 
a terrible time, the Second Brigade was overwhelmed, 
nearly half of the 21st Va. Regt. lay on the ground, 



114 ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

(lead and wounded. F Company of Richmond carried 
eighteen men into action, twelve of them were lying on 
the ground, six dead and six wcnnided, and many of the 
regiment were prisoners. The remnant was still fight- 
ing hand to hand. Jackson hurried men to our relief, 
the Stonewall Brigade coming in on our left, and the 
Third Brigade on the right. I'hey succeeded in sur- 
rounding a part of the command who had surrounded 
us. and took nearly all of them prisoners, including their 
hrigadier general ; and released those of our men who 
had been captured in time for them to join the little 
band in the advance. Just at this moment the enemy 
hurled a line of cavalry against us, from the corn field, 
but our fire on them was so hot that those not un- 
horsed, wheeled, and off to the rear they went on a run. 
Our whole line now advanced, and the enemy were in 
full retreat. We could plainly see Ewell, with a part 
of his division on Slaughter Mountain, way off to the 
right of our line, advancing too; as the mountain at this 
point was free of woods, we could see his skirmish line 
in front advancing down the mountain, his line of battle 
following, and his cannon belching forth fire and smoke, 
and we could see tlie enemy's shell bursting on the moun- 
tain side. It was a magnificent and inspiring sight. 

We kept up the pursuit until 9 or 10 o'clock at night, 
when we halted, and were allowed to rest for the night. 

Tile battle was fought and won. the 21st Va. Regt. 
had written its name high on the scroll of honor, but 
at what cost. They went into battle with two hundred 
and eighty-four men; thirty-nine of them lay dead on 
the field, and ninety-two were wounded. Old F Com- 
pany of Richmond lost Capt. Morgan, shot through the 
body by a piece of shell. He was a splendid soldier, 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 115 

and the best informed man on military matters that I 
knew during the war. Henry Anderson, Joe Nun- 
nally, John Powell, William Pollard, and Roswell Lind- 
say were killed. Bob Gilliam was shot through the leg, 
Clarence Redd through both wrists, Ned Tompkins 
through one arm and in the body. Porter Wren in the 
arm, Harrison Watkins through the body, and Clarence 
Taylor through the hip. 

Nearly half of Jackson's loss in this battle was in the 
Second Brigade. Amongst the killed were Brig. Gen. 
Charles Winder of the Stonewall Brigade, who com- 
manded the division, and Lieut. Col. Richard H. Cun- 
ningham (an old F), who commanded the 21st Va. 
Regt., two as gallant men as the cause ever lost, a great 
loss to our command and the army. Both were con- 
spicuous on every battlefield for brave deeds, and they 
gave promise of being great soldiers. I have always 
thought there was a similarity in their deaths. Both 
were on the sick list, each had been riding in an ambu- 
lance during the day, but, at the sound of the guns, each 
mounted his horse, came to the front, and took com- 
mand of his men. Winder was posting his advance 
artillery in the open field just to our right when he was 
killed, and Cunningham was killed a few minutes later 
near the same place. I also think if they had lived each 
would have been promoted. Winder to be a major gen- 
eral, and Cunningham to be a brigadier general, both 
commissions dating from this battle. 

Here is what Major Dabney, on Jackson's staff, says 
in his life of Stonewall Jackson. After describing the 
position of the brigades that were already in line of* 
battle to our right, he comes to that occupied by the 
Second Brigade and says: 



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ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 117. 

Jackson would not renew the advance, and Pope, being 
so much surprised at seeing the front of a rebel, had not 
recovered sufficiently to attack Jackson. 

About midday. Pope asked permission of Gen. Jack- 
son to succor such of his wounded as had not already 
been treated by us, and to bury his dead; this Gen. 
Jackson granted, and put the field of battle under the 
command of Brig. Gen. Early. Soon the Yank and 
Confederate were engaged in friendly converse, trading 
papers, tobacco, etc. 

When night came on. Gen. Jackson thought it best to 
fall back behind the Rapidan, and we crossed that stream 
the next day, and went into camp between that river and 
Gordonsville. While we were there, Stark's Louisiana 
Brigade was added to Jackson's division; the division 
consisting of the First (Stonewall), Second, Third, 
Fourth, or Louisiana, brigades. We remained in this 
camp until August i6th, when we marched a few miles, 
and prepared for another advance against Pope. 



XIV 

SECOND MANASSAS 

LoNGSTREET liaviiig juiiicd Jackson and Gen. Lee 
having completed his plans, the army broke camp on 
August 20th and marched in the direction of Pope's 
army. Jackson crossed the Rapidan river at Summer- 
ville Ford. Pope had retreated behind the Rappahan- 
nock river, and we made that river our objective point. 
After trying several fords with the seeming intention of 
crossing, the morning of the 25th found us near the vil- 
lage of Jeffersonton in Culpeper county. Here we re- 
ceived orders to cook three days' rations, and be ready 
to move as soon as possible. Soon afterwards, orders 
were given to fall in; but many of the men had not pre- 
pared their rations for want of time, — the half baked 
biscuit and the raw dough were left. This for many 
was nothing to eat for some time, probably days! The 
wagon train having remained behind, and everything 
being in light marching trim, indicated that something 
of importance was on hand. 

As soon as the column was formed, we were hurried 
off on the march, passing through the village of Amiss- 
ville, and crossing the Rappahannock at Hinson's mill ; 
thence several miles right through the country, through 
fields, over ditches and fences, through woods until wc 
came to a jniblic road. This we took, passing the vil- 
lage of Orleans and marching steadily until wc passed 
Salem, about tS or 9 o'clock at night. Jlere we halted 
in the road, stacked arms, and were told we could lie 

118 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 119 

down and rest, having marched about twenty-six miles. 
Early the next morning we were up and on the march 
again, passing through Bull Run Mountain at Thorough- 
fare Gap, thence through Hay Market and Gainsville, 
not stopping until ten or eleven o'clock at night; march- 
ing about the same distance as the day before, and again 
stopping in the road. Many of the men lay down right 
where they stopped in the road, being so completely 
used up from the march and heat as not to have energy 
to move to one side. We were near Bristow Station, 
and not far from Manassas Junction, and far in Pope's 
rear, " the man that had no rear." (?) Gen. Jackson now 
sent a force ahead to capture Manassas, which was done 
during the night with small loss to us. Immense quan- 
tities of stores were captured with several trains of rail- 
road cars, eight pieces of artillery with caissons and 
horses, etc., complete, a number of wagons, several hun- 
dred prisoners, and several hundred negroes, who had 
been persuaded to run away from their owners. Early 
the next morning Ewell's division marched in the direc- 
tion of Bristow, the remainder of the corps to Manassas 
Junction, which place our division reached about 7 or 8 
o'clock in the morning. The Second Brigade was filed 
by regiments to the right of the road, in an open field 
and near the storehouses, where arms were stacked, and 
we were ordered to rest and remain near our guns. 

Not long after this it was rumored that a force from 
Washington was approaching to drive us away. A. P. 
Hill's division was sent forward to meet them, and soon 
put them to rout. They consisted of a brigade of in- 
fantry with some artillery, sent down to brush away a 
small raiding force, as they supposed us to be. 

A scene around the storehouses was now witnessed. 



120 OXE OF JACKSOX'S FOOT CAVALRY 

but cannot be described. Were you, when a boy, on 
some special occasion allowed to eat as much of every- 
thing you wanted ? Were you ever a soldier, who had 
eaten nothing but rt)asting ears for two days? Well, 
if you have ever been either, you may probably have 
some conception of what followed. Only those who par- 
ticipated can ever appreciate it. Remember, that many 
of those men were hurried off on the march on the 
morning of the 25th with nothing to eat, that it was now 
the 27th, and we had marched in this time about sixty 
miles. The men who had prepared their rations did 
not have enough for two days, much less for three, and. 
after dividing with such comrades as had none, every- 
thing had long been eaten. Xow here are vast store- 
houses filled with everything to eat, and sutler's stores 
filled with all the delicacies, potted ham. lobster, tongue, 
candy, cakes, nuts, oranges, lemons, pickles, catsup, mus-* 
tard, etc. It makes an old soldier's mouth water now. 
to think of the good things captured there. A guard 
was placed over everything in the early part of the day, 
rations were issued to the men. but not by weight and 
measure to each man. A ])ackage or two of each article 
was given to each company. These are some of the 
articles issued to F Company. The first thing brought 
us was a barrel of cakes, next, a bag of hams. We se- 
cured a camp kettle, made a fire, and put a ham on to 
boil; and we had hardly gotten it underway before a 
barrel of sugar and coffee, the "N'anks had it mixed, and 
a bag of beans were sent us. After a consultation, we 
decided to empty the ham out of the kettle, as we could 
take that along raw. and in its place i)nt the beans on 
the fire, as they were something we were fond of and 
hacl not had for a long time. About the time they com- 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 121 

menced to get warm, a bag of potatoes was brought us; 
— over the kettle goes, and the potatoes take the place 
of the beans. We now think our kettle is all right, as 
potatoes cook in a short time, but here comes a package 
of desiccated vegetables, and the kettle is again emptied, 
and the vegetables are placed on the fire, as soup is so 
good. We were also given a barrel of syrup. This 
was a liberal and varied bill of fare for our company, 
which was small then. 

Gen. Jackson's idea was that he could care for the 
stores until Gen. Lee came up, and turn the remainder 
over to him, hence he placed the guard over them. The 
enemy began to make such demonstrations that he de- 
cided he could not hold the place, therefore the houses 
were thrown open, and every man was told to help him- 
self. Our kettle of soup was left to take care of itself. 
Men who were starving a few hours before, and did not 
know when they would get another mouthful, were told 
to help themselves. Well, what do you think they did? 
Begin to eat. Oh, no. They discussed what they 
should eat, and what they should take with them, as 
orders were issued for us to take four clays' rations 
with us. It was hard to decide what to take, some filled 
their haversacks with cakes, some with candy, others 
oranges, lemons, canned goods, etc. I know one who 
took nothing but French mustard, filled his haversack 
and was so greedy that he put one more bottle in his 
pocket. This was his four days' rations, and it turned 
out to be the best thing taken, because he traded it for 
meat and bread, and it lasted him until we reached 
Frederick City. All good times have an end, and, as 
night approached, preparations were made to burn every- 
thing that we could not carry; and not long after sunset 



122 ONE OF JACKSOX'S FOOT CAVALRY 

tlie stores were set on fire. Our division, taking up our 
march as soon as the fires got well under way, marched 
several hours, when our brigade was ordered to a road 
on our left for i)icket duty. At daybreak we found 
ourselves on the Warrenton and Alexander pike near 
Groveton. 

There was only one field officer in our brigade at this 
time, and Gen. Jackson had assigned Col. Bradley T. 
Johnson temporarily to command it. The Irish bat- 
talion was commanded by a major, the 48th Va. Regt. 
by a lieutenant, the 42d by a captain, and the 21st by a 
captain. 11ie Second Brigade remained about Groveton 
until late in the evening. Col. Johnson had orders to 
make demonstrations and the biggest show he could, so 
as to delay the enemy as long as possible from any ad- 
vance in this direction ; and well did he do it. At one 
time he had one regiment on top of a hill, with its colors 
under the next hill, just high enougli to show over its 
top; a regiment with its colors on the next hill, etc., 
thus making the appearance of a long line of battle. 
We had two pieces of artillery, and as one body of the 
enemy was seen, one or both pieces of artillery were 
brought into view, and when the enemy moved, the can- 
nons were limbered up and moved also to some far hill, 
and the movement was repeated. 

Early in the morning, while the 21st Va. Regt. was on 
one of these hills lying down in line, the enemy ran a 
cannon out on a hill, unlimbered, and fired a shot at us, 
hitting one of the men of Company K, tearing the heel 
of his shoe off, but not injuring him. I'his was the first 
cannon shot from either side at Second Manassas, and 
the only one fired at that time, as the piece liml^ered up 
and withdrew in a ti'jt. When the Jist regiment soon 



I 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 123 

afterwards was deployed as skirmishers, and stationed 
across the Warrenton pike, a Yankee artilleryman rode 
into our line, thinking it was his. He was the first 
prisoner taken. 

The inmates of the Groveton house now abandoned 
it, — a lady, bareheaded, and her servant woman, run- 
ning out of the front door, having a little girl between 
them, each holding her by one of her hands, the child 
crying loudly. They crossed the pike, climbed over the 
fence, and went directly south through the fields, and 
were soon lost to sight. In their excitement they did 
not even close the door to their deserted home. 

The Yankee wagon train was seen on a road south of 
us, on its way to Washington; the two pieces of artillery 
were run out and commenced to fire at them, causing a 
big stampede. It was now about eleven or twelve 
o'clock, and we retired to a wood north of the pike, 
formed the brigade into line of battle, stacked arms, and 
lay down in position. 

None of the men had seen or heard anything of the 
remainder of our corps, and we had no idea as to where 
they were, and it was singular that " Old Jack " had not 
made his accustomed appearance along the front, the 
artillery fire not even bringing him. The men were 
much puzzled and mystified by this. Col. Johnson sent 
to the 2 1st Va. Regt. for a lieutenant and six men to re- 
port with arms, etc., at once to him ; one of the men 
from F Company, the writer, was designated by name. 
On reporting, they were ordered to drive a squad of 
Yankees away from a house in sight. This they did in 
quick order, although they had to cross an open field 
and get over three fences before reaching the house. 
We remained at the house a while, and seeing that we 



124 ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

were about to be cut off, we retired to the brigade with- 
out loss. This was the first musket fire of Second Man- 
assas, and it may be said that the battle had commenced, 
the enemy being seen in several directions towards our 
front. The officer returning to Col. Johnson made his 
report, when the colonel retained the '' F " man, the 
writer, and ordered him to go out to the front as far 
as possible without being seen by the enemy, and keep 
a lookout, reporting to him any body of the enemy seen 
approaching, and, in order to get along the better, to 
leave his arms. I crept to the front until I reached a 
bush on top of a slight elevation, where I lay down for 
several hours, observing the movements of several small 
bodies of the enemy, mostly cavalry. While I was 
lying down behind the bush, an incident occurred that 
has always puzzled me. I heard the quick step of a 
horse to my right and rear, and looking around I saw 
a horseman in full gallop, coming from the north and 
going along a small country road that joined the W'ar- 
renton pike at Groveton house. Arriving at the gap in 
the fence along the road, he wheeled his horse and rode 
directly towards me as I lay down in the field ; and it 
was done in such a deliberate way as to impress the 
vidette that his presence was known before the horse- 
man came along the road. He did not (h'aw rein until 
he was almost on the vidette, when he asked if the 
vidette knew where Gen. Jackson was. Receiving a 
negative reply, he wheeled his horse and rode back to 
the gaj), turned into the road, and was off at full gallop 
towards Groveton house. This man was riding a black 
mare, and wore a long liiu-n (Uisicr and dark pants; 
there was something so suspicious about his movements 
and dress, that the vidette would have taken him to 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 125 

Col. Johnson if he had had his gun. There was a squad 
of Yankees at the Groveton house, and when the rider 
reached it, several of them ran from the front of the 
house and surrounded him. He dismounted and went 
with them to the front of the house while one of their 
number led the horse into the back yard and tied him. 
This was hardly done before a body of our cavalry 
charged up the Warrenton pike, and captured the party. 
The vidette had seen that detachment coming along the 
road a few minutes before, and could have warned the 
man riding the horse of the Yankees' presence, but a 
distrust came over him as soon as I saw him. 

About 4 o'clock in the afternoon the vidette was 
startled by a long line of skirmishers stepping out of the 
w^ood in his front and advancing. Jumping to my feet, 
I started towards Col. Johnson and having gone only a 
short distance, I saw their line of battle following. Now 
that fellow just " dusted " made his report to Col. John- 
son, who called the line to attention, and gave the com- 
mand, " Right face ! double quick ! march ! " and away we 
went northward through the woods. All of us were 
wondering what had become of Jackson, but when we 
were through the woods, the first man we saw was " Old 
Jack," and looking beyond, we could see that his com- 
mand was massed in a large field, arms stacked, batteries 
parked, and everything resting. Col. Johnson rode up 
to him and made his report. Gen. Jackson turned at 
once to his staff, gave each an order, and, in a minute, 
the field was in a perfect hubbub, — men riding in all 
directions, infantry rushing to arms, cannoneers to their 
guns and the drivers mounting. We saw the master 
hand now. In the time I am taking to tell this, one 
heard the sharp command of an officer, '' Right face, 



126 ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

forward march," and saw a body of skirmishers march 
out of that confused mass right up to " Old Jack,',' 
where the olTicer gave the command, " File right," and 
the next instant the command to deploy. The move- 
ment was done in the twinkling of an eye. Forward 
they went to meet the enemy. Gen. Jackson had waited 
to see this; he now turned to Col. Johnson and told him 
to let his men stack arms and rest, as they had been on 
duty since the day before; he would not call on them if 
he could avoid it; and off he went with the advance skir- 
mishers. Another body of them had, in the meantime, 
marched out and filed to the left, and gone forward. 
A column of infantry unwound itself out of that mass, 
marched up to the point where the skirmishers had been 
filed to the right, fronted, and went forward. Another 
was now filing to the left, while the third column moved 
straight ahead, a part of the artillery following each 
column of infantry. This was the most perfect move- 
ment of troops I saw during the war. The crack of 
muskets and the bang of artillery told us that the lines 
had met, and the fire in a few minutes was terrific. An 
officer soon came, however, ordering the Second Rrigade 
to report on the extreme left of Jackson's line, where 
the whole brigade was formed as skirmishers, ordered 
forward and, after going a certain distance, halted, and 
ordered to lie down. W'c stayed there all night, sleeping 
on our arms, 'i'hc enemy did not a])pcar in our front; 
but our right had a hard fight, in which the enemy were 
defeated, retreating during the night. P>rig. On. Talia- 
ferro, commanding Jackson's division, and Maj. (ien. 
Ewcll were amongst our wounded. 

The next morning, August 2f)th. the Second Brigade 
marched to the right of Jackson's line, on top of a large 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 127 

hill, where there were several pieces of artillery. We 
stayed there about an hour, and were shelled severely by 
the enemy, who had made their appearance from another 
direction than that of the evening before. 

Jackson now took position behind an unfinished rail- 
road, which ran parallel to and north of the Warrenton 
pike, and, I suppose, about a mile from it. Jackson's 
division was on the right, Ewell's next, and A. P. Hill's 
on the left. The Second Brigade marched from the 
hill to the left about half a mile, where we joined our 
division and formed two lines of battle, in a wood and 
near its edge, facing south. In our front there was a 
narrow neck of open land, about three hundred yards 
wide; on the west, the w^ood ran along this field about 
three hundred yards to a point where the field joined a 
larger field. A short distance around the angle of the 
wood was the hill which we occupied early in the morn- 
ing, and Jackson had now several batteries of artillery 
on it. On the east, the woods ran along the field for 
six hundred yards to a point where the field joined a 
large field; this large field ran east and west and at its 
far side the Warrenton pike ran. About two hundred 
yards in our front was a part of the abandoned railroad, 
running across the open neck from the wood on the east 
to near that of the west. The eastern end of the road 
was in a valley, where there was a fill for about one hun- 
dred yards, extending to a hill through which a cut ran 
out on the level ground just before it reached the west 
wood. The reader will notice now that in front of the 
railroad there was a short strip of wood on the west 
side and a long strip on the east. Our skinnishers were 
stationed at the railroad; we were ordered to lie down 
in line, guns in hand, and directed to rush for the rail- 



ij8 one of JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

road as soon as an order to forward should be j::^iven. 

Col. Johnson came alonc^ the line, stopped about ten 
yards in front of F Company, took out his pipe, filled it 
and lighted it. and quietly sat on the ground, leaning 
against a small sapling. 

Everything was perfectly quiet, but this did not last 
long. The stillness in our front was broken by a shot, 
and almost in the same instant a shell went crashing 
through the trees overhead. This was the signal for a 
severe shelling of our woods ; a man was wounded. 
Col. Johnson immediately arose, went to him. sent him 
to the rear, and stopped long enough to talk to the men 
around him, and quiet their uneasiness. He came back 
and resumed his seat. This was repeated several times. 
The enemy now advanced and engaged our skirmishers 
at the railroad, some of the balls aimed at them occa- 
sionally reached our line, and wounded some of the men. 
Col. Johnson invited several of the men who were be- 
coming uneasy to come and sit by him. and he had about 
a dozen around him, talking and laughing. Our skir- 
mishers were now being driven from the railroad, and 
soon they retired to the line of battle. The enemy were 
now some distance north of the railroad in our front. 
The brigade being called to attention, instantly was on 
its feet, and when the order was given to forward, it 
rushed to the front. Reaching the field, we emptied 
our guns into the enemy, and charged them with empty 
guns. They turned and ran. leaving many dead and 
wounded on our side of the railroad. Aj)proaching 
these men. lying on the ground about one hundred yards 
from us. [ noticed one of them on his back, gesticulating 
with his hands, raising them u\), moving them violently 
backward and forward. I thought he was trying to at- 



I 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 129 

tract our attention, so that we might not injure him in 
our advance. When I reached him, I recognized by 
his shoulder straps that he was a Yankee captain, and 
one of our captains, who was running on my left, said 
he was making the masonic sign of distress. Arriving 
at the railroad, the 21st Va. Regt. occupied the bank, 
and the remainder of the Second Brigade occupied the 
cut on our right. We loaded and fired at the retreating 
enemy, and soon cleared the field. 

Expecting a renewal of the attack by the enemy, we 
remained at the railroad, and, after a short halt, the an- 
nouncement " Here they come! " was heard. A line of 
battle marched out of the far end of the east wood into 
the field, halted, dressed the line, and moved forward. 
They were allowed to come within about one hundred 
yards of us, when we opened fire. We could see them 
stagger, halt, stand a short time, break, and run. At 
this time, another line made its appearance, coming from 
the same point. It came a little nearer. They, too, 
broke and ran. Still another line came nearer, 
broke and ran. The whole field seemed to be full of 
Yankees and some of them advanced nearly to the rail- 
road. We went over the bank at them, the remainder 
of the brigade following our example. The enemy now 
broke and ran, and we pursued, firing as fast as we 
could. We followed them into the woods, and drove 
them out on the other side, where we halted and were 
ordered back to the railroad. We captured two pieces 
of artillery in the woods, and carried them back with 
us. As we returned a Yankee battery of eight guns had 
full play on us in the field, and our line became a little 
confused; we halted, every man instantly turned and 
faced the battery. As we did so, I heard a thud on my 



I30 OXK OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

right, as if one had been struck with a heavy fist. Look- 
ing around I saw a man at my side standing erect, with 
his head off, a stream of blood spurting a foot or more 
from his neck. As I turned farther around, I saw three 
others lying on the ground, all killed by this cannon 
shot. The man standing was a captain in the 42d Va. 
Regt., and his brains and blood bespattered the face and 
clothing of one of my company, who was standing in 
my rear. This was the second time I saw four men 
killed by one shot. The other occurred in the battle 
of Cedar Run, a few weeks earlier. Fach time the shot 
struck as it was descending, — the first man had his head 
taken off, the next was shot through the breast, the next 
through the stomach, and the fourth had all his bowels 
torn out. 

We went back to our position in tlie woods, formed 
our old line of battle in two lines, and lay down as before. 
Immediately our attention was called to a line of battle 
filing into position in our front, but nearly at right angles 
to us. What did this mean? Were the enemy making 
preparations to storm us again? General Starke, our 
division commander, arrived, his attention was called to 
the line, he used his glass, and, after a careful survey, 
called a courier, and directed him to go to the right 
around the hill in our frc^nt, and find out who they were. 
The Yankees were shelling (»nr woods heavily, but the 
excitement was so great that the men, who had orders 
to lie down for protection, were all standing up watching 
the line fonn, which grew longer each moment. Our 
courier, after a short stay, was seen coming as fast as 
his horse could run, and before he reached General 
Starke, cried out, *' It is Longstrect! " A great cry that 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 131 

Longstreet had come was taken up by the men all down 
the line. The courier now told General Starke that the 
man sitting on a stump, whom we had noticed before, 
was General Lee ; and that Longstreet said he had gotten 
up in time to witness our charge, which, he said, was 
splendid ! 

This put new life into Jackson's men, who had heard 
nothing of Longstreet. They knew that if Pope with 
his large army would put forth energy, he could greatly 
damage us ; but every thought was changed now. We 
only wished for a renewal of the attack, but were afraid 
he would not attack us after his repulse on the morning 
and the presence of Longstreet! He did attack A. P. 
Hill's division on the left, and met with the same kind 
of repulse that we had given him. A part of Long- 
street's command became heavily engaged also. This 
ended the second day's fighting, and the Second Brigade 
was jubilant over its share of Second Manassas so far. 

The cannonading commenced early on the morning of 
the 30th with skirmishing in front that at times became 
active. About noon, expecting an attack, the Second 
Brigade moved to the railroad, taking position as on 
the day before. About 2 or 3 o'clock we heard on our 
right, the sound of '' Here they come! " and almost in- 
stantly we saw a column of the enemy march into the 
field from the point at which they appeared the day be- 
fore, dressing the line and advancing on us. Every man 
in our line shifted his cartridge box to the front, un- 
strapped it and his cap box, gave his gun a second look, 
and took his position to meet the coming enemy, who 
were rapidly approaching. We allowed them to come 
about the same distance as on the day before, and then 



132 ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

opened fire, with about the same result. Other lines ad- 
vanced, each gfctting nearer us; the field was filled with 
Yanks as on tlie day before, but in much greater num- 
bers, and their advance continued, h^very man in the 
Second Brigade at this moment remembered Cedar Run, 
each one loaded his gun with care, raised it deliberately 
to his shoulder, took deadly aim, and i)ulled the trigger! 
We were fighting now as I never saw it done, we behind 
the railroad bank and in the cut, which made a splendid 
breastwork, the enemy crowded in the field, their men fall- 
ing fast, as we could plainly sec. Our ammunition was 
failing, our men taking it from the boxes of dead and 
wounded comrades. The advance of the enemy con- 
tinued ; by this time they were at the bank, they mounting 
it, our men mounting too, some with guns loaded, some 
with bayonets fixed, some with nuiskets childbed, and 
some with large rocks in their hands. (Col. Johnson in 
his official rc])ort says he saw a man's skull crushed by 
a rock in the hands of one of his brigade.) A short 
struggle on top of the bank, and in front of the cut, and 
the battle was ours! The enemy were running! and then 
went up that yell that only Confederates could make! 
Some men were wild with excitement, hats were ofT, 
some up in the air! It was right here that Lieut. Raw- 
lings, commanding F Company, was killed ! — his hat 
in one hand, his sword in the other, cheering his men to 
victory! ITe was struck in the head by a rifie ball, and 
fell dead. 

After the Hying enemy we went, through the field in 
our front, to the woods on the left, through that into 
the next field, where we could see our line advancing in 
all directions, our artillery firing over our heads! Some 
of the artillery following in the pursuit, and nearing a 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 133 

hill, ran up, unlimbered, and fired rapidly through open- 
ings in our advancing line, thousands of muskets fired, 
the men giving the old yell ! It was one of those inspir- 
ing scenes, which its actors will never forget, and made 
a staunch soldier of a recruit ! 

We kept up the pursuit until eight or nine o'clock in 
the night, when we halted, and were allowed to rest until 
morning. The man, " with headquarters in the saddle," 
who " had no rear," was taught the second lesson of 
Jackson's tactics. He wished now that he had a rear, 
as he was putting forth all his efforts to find Washing- 
ton with its fortifications, which was forty-five or fifty 
miles in his rear, when we commenced our movement. 

The loss in our brigade was small. Among the killed 
was Lieut. Edward G. Rawlings, commanding F Com- 
pany. He was as good a soldier as the war produced, a 
magnificent specimen of manhood, tall and erect, over six 
feet in his stockings, weighing about two hundred pounds, 
with endurance in proportion to his size. I have often 
heard him say he could march forever, if his feet would 
not become sore. He was kind and gentle, always at his 
post doing his duty. 

To Jackson belongs the chief honor of Second Manas- 
sas, as in the first battle of Manassas, and the position 
held by the Second Brigade was one of the points on 
which the enemy made many desperate and repeated as- 
saults ; in all of which they were repulsed with great loss. 
I saw more of their dead lying on the ground in 
our front than I saw in the same space during the 
war. 

One of our company wrote home that he was shot all 
to pieces, having twenty-seven holes shot through his 
blanket. In his next letter he explained that his blanket 



134 OXE OF JACKSOX'S FOOT CAVALRY 

was folded, and one shot going through it, made the 
twenty-seven holes ! 

I take i)leasure in adding my mite of praise to our 
division and brigade commanders. Brig. Gen. Taliaferro, 
commanding the division the first evening, was wounded. 
Brig. Gen. Starke of the Louisiana Brigade succeeded 
him. This was his first experience in handling a divi- 
sion, but he did it with great skill; he was conspicuous 
for gallantry, and seemed to be at the right spot at the 
right moment! His conduct was such as to endear him 
to this old command, and when he was killed at its head, 
a few weeks later, many an eye was dimmed by a tear ! 

It was the unanimous sentiment of the Second Brigade 
that they were never handled as well as they were by 
Colonel Bradley T. Johnson, during this battle and the 
rest of the time he was with us. His personal interest 
in the men went right to their hearts, and they showed 
their appreciation by obeying every order with cheerful- 
ness and alacrity. .And we made him a Brigadier Gen- 
eral. Here is an extract from a letter written to the 
Secretary of War by Lieut. Gen. Jackson, in which he 
speaks of Col. Johnson and the Second Brigade at 
Second Manassas: ** The heroism with which the brig- 
ade fought, and its success in battle, but brightened my 
opinion of its commander." 

It is not generally known that the ground occupied 
by the enemy in the battle of First and Second Manassas 
was almost the same. The junction of the Warrenton 
pike and the Sudley road was an important point in b(^th 
battles. In the first battle, they marched southward 
along the Sudley road to the Stone House at the junction 
of the Warrenton pike and thence moved to the South- 
east. In the second battle, they marched X^orthward 



OXE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAV-\LRY 135 

along the same road to the Stone House, and from that 
point Northwest. Some of their guns occupied the same 
hills during both battles. In the first, firing to the South- 
east, and in the second, reversing and firing to the North- 
west. 



XV 



THE MARYLAND CAMPAIGN HARPERS FERRY AND 

SHARPS BURG 

The morning after the battle of Second Manassas, 
the pursuit of the enemy was resumed, and continued all 
day. The next mornino^, Sept. ist, Jackson advanced by 
the Little River Turnpike, and about noon learned that 
the enemy had made a stand near Chantily, or Ox Hill. 
He immediately made arrangements to attack them. 
When we were ready to advance, it commenced to rain, 
lasting a short time, but coming down in torrents ! At 
its height, the Yanks made an attack on us, which was as 
sudden and almost as furious as the rainstorm ! We 
repulsed this attack and advanced, but night came on and 
put a stop to the fight, llie enemy lost two generals, 
killed in this battle; one of them being Phil Kearney. It 
is said that Gen. Jackson was told by one of his officers 
that the rain had wet and ruined all the ammunition of 
his men, and the officer desired to know what he must 
do about it. Gen. Jackson replied that the rain had 
ruined the enemy's, too! We lay down in our wet clothes 
on the wet ground for rest, and arose early in the morn- 
ing, feeling stiff and sore. We marched in ])ursuit of 
the enemy a short distance, and heard that during the 
night they had retreated, and sought protection in their 
fortificati(jns around Washington. As night approached 
we made i)reparations for a good rest, as it was the first 
we had liad for a week out of sight of the enemy, and 
we made good use of it, feeling the next morning like new 

136 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 137 

men. We started on the march early in the morning. 
Soon it was passed from Hp to hp along the line that we 
were going into Maryland. This created great excite- 
ment among the men, and they stepped off so briskly as 
to give no suggestion that these men had had only one 
night's rest and none during the day, for more than a 
week! At night we halted, and were allowed another 
good rest. Our wagons joined us during the night, and 
the next morning we were given time to cook rations, 
the first that the men had cooked since Aug. 25th. It 
would have done one good to sit down by one of the 
fires and watch the men! As one '* spider " of biscuits 
and one frying pan of meat was cooked, it was immedi- 
ately divided and eaten, then another was cooked and 
eaten, most of the rations for the twenty-four hours 
being thus disposed of. After the cooking was done and 
wagons were loaded, we resumed our march, and halted 
at night in the neighborhood of Leesburg. The next 
morning, Sept. 5th, we marched again, and about 9 or 
10 o'clock in the morning the Second Brigade reached 
the Potomac river, and forded it at White's Ford, with 
great enthusiasm, — bands playing, men singing and 
cheering! Reaching Maryland, we marched up the tow 
path of the Washington Canal a short distance to the 
locks, where we crossed the canal on a bridge, then took 
a road and continued our march until night ; camping in 
the neighborhood of the Three Springs, resuming the 
march the next morning. The Second Brigade, Col. 
Bradley T. Johnson commanding, was given the advance 
of the army, and late in the evening we came to the Bal- 
timore & Ohio R. R. depot near Frederick City, and saw 
several cars loaded with watermelons. The men broke 
ranks as they passed and many secured a melon, and hur- 



1 38 ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

ricd back to his place. Soon afterwards we entered 
Frederick City, many of the men having watermelons in 
their arms. We marched to the Fair Grounds, which 
had been fitted up as a large hospital for the enemy. Our 
brigade stacked arms, and were told to make themselves 
comfortable for the night. A guard was placed around 
our camp, in order to prevent the men from straggling 
through the town. A friend and I succeeded in ])assing 
the guard, and took a stroll through the town. We were 
invited into several houses and entertained handsomely 
at supper, eating enough for half a dozen men. After 
being absent for some time, we returned to our quarters. 
Reaching my company I was told to report to brigade 
headquarters at once. I thought something terrible was 
to pay now, did not know whether I was to be shot or 
sent to prison, but I knew something was to be done with 
me. I was soon ready, found headquarters, and reported 
to the adjutant general. Fie greeted me cheerfully, and 
told me to go at once to the enemy's hospital, ask for 
the surgeon in charge, get a list from him of the names 
of all the inmates, and write a parole for each, according 
to a copy he furnished me. He said the surgeon in charge 
would give me all the information wanted, and render 
me any assistance that was needed. 

I went back to my company with a light heart, made 
disposition of my gun and amnumition, and took my bag- 
gage with me. I will take occasion to tell what that 
consisted of, and at same time will say that it was rather 
al)(jve the a\ erage in our army, as to quality as well as 
quantity. I had a very good oilcloth haversack to carry 
my rations in, a tin cuj), a splendid rubber cloth, a blanket, 
a pair of jeans drawers, and a pair of woolen socks; every 
article captured from the enemy! The socks and 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 139 

drawers were placed in the blanket, the blanket was rolled 
up with the rubber cloth on the outside, the ends drawn 
together and fastened with a short strap. To carry this 
we put it over the head and let it hang from the shoulder. 
Thus equipped, I reported to the surgeon. He treated 
me very politely, gave me a list of about seven hundred 
men who were in the hospital, conducted me into one of 
the dining-rooms, gave me a lamp, pen, ink, and paper, 
and told me to use one of the tables. He thought it the 
best place, because I would have plenty of room, and no 
one to disturb me. I cleaned the table and prepared for 
action, sat down and commenced to write at once. I 
tell you it was a job, as I had to write every word of the 
paroles for those men in duplicate, one for the prisoner 
and one for us. I wrote until about twelve at night, 
when the doctor came in and brought me a nice lunch. 
He sat down, and we had a pleasant talk for about an 
hour, he leaving and I continuing my writing until nearly 
day, when I lay down on one of the benches, and had a 
good nap. I arose, went to the pump, washed myself, 
looked up my company, had a little chat with them, and 
went back to my dining-room, keeping at my work until 
it was finished, the doctor sending me my meals. After 
I had finished, I reported at headquarters to the adjutant 
general, who told me to stay there, that I was wanted for 
special duty, as Col. Johnson was in command of the 
town, and had the Second Brigade on guard duty. I 
stayed at headquarters until Sept. loth, when Jackson's 
corps left the city, taking the road to Hagerstown, and 
camping that night near Boonsboro. 

I was marching at the head of the column, and reach- 
ing Boonsboro the next morning, saw the advance cavalry 
enter and pass through the village. Gen. Jackson fol- 



140 ONE OF JACKSOX'S FOOT CAVALRY 

lowed a short distance after them, and at a house near 
the corner of a cross street, dismounted, and tying his 
horse, entered the house, lie had hardly entered the 
house before a body of cavalry charged through the vil- 
lage on the cross street, in full sight of the head of our 
column. When we reached the village, we learned that 
they were a body of Yanks, who had made a dash through 
our line. This was a narrow escape for Jackson, as he 
surely would have been captured if he had ridden on, or 
delayed his going into the house! The god of battle 
took care of him; it was not destined that the Yanks 
should get him ! 

\Ve turned to the left and marched to \\^illiamsport, 
crossing the Potomac into Virginia. I made a big spec- 
ulation at W'illiamsport ; my messmates asked me to get 
some soda, as we needed it to make our biscuits. I went 
to a drug store to get it, asked the salesman for a pound, 
and the price was only eight cents. I gave him a Con- 
federate note, which he took without hesitation, and gave 
me change. I then asked what he would sell a keg for; 
his reply, six cents per pound. I paid him at once, shoul- 
dered the keg, one hundred and twenty pounds, carried 
it to the river, where I induced a wagon to carry it to 
camp for me. I sold it that night for twenty-five cents 
per pound ! W'e marched to the neighborhood of North 
Mountain depot on the P>. c^ O. R. R.. and camped for 
the night. 

The next morning we continued our march, passing 
through Martinsburg, where we cai)tured from the enemy 
a good lot of stores, they retreating to Harper's Ferry, 
and we going into camp for the night not far from Mar- 
tinsburg. 

In the morning we marched to Harper's Ferry, where 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 141 

the enemy were fortified, and were awaiting us. We 
skirmished some, driving the enemy in, and locating their 
position, we rested in our places for the night, and the 
next morning a line of battle was formed, Jackson's di- 
vision on the left, its left resting on the Potomac river, 
Ewell's division next, and A. P. Hill's on the right, and 
their right resting on the Shenandoah river. Our skir- 
mishers drove those of the enemy all along the line, and 
the artillery from each side commenced firing. We were 
joined in the afternoon by artillery from Maryland and 
Shenandoah Heights, and learned, through this, that we 
had help from McLaws, who occupied the former, and 
V,^alker the latter position. Both of these commands 
were sending shot into the doomed enemy. Firing was 
kept up in this way until late in the evening, when we 
made several attacks on different positions of the enemy, 
capturing them, gaining much advantage, and bringing 
our line closer to their fortifications. Night coming on, 
we rested in our places. Early the next morning the guns 
all along our line opened, and the infantry was preparing 
for a general charge, when the white flag was seen in 
several places along the enemy's fortifications. In a 
little while firing ceased and soon after it was announced 
that the enemy had surrendered ! 

Some of the headquarters folks had offered to feed a 
horse for me, if I w^ould get one. My opportunity had 
come. Making my way to the fortifications, I clambered 
over them, saw the Yankees had stacked their arms, and 
were parking their artillery and wagons. I was sur- 
rounded at once and plied with all kinds of questions as 
to what Jackson would do with them. Since I did not 
know anything about the terms of surrender, I could 
tell them nothing. I took a Colt's army pistol from one 



142 ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

of llicni, and buckling it around my waist, went on my 
way looking for a horse. McLaws had not ceased firing; 
every now and then a shot from his guns would drop near 
me. A Yankee major rode up to me and in a very rough 
manner wanted to know ** why your people kept firing 
on us, after we had surrendered? " I told him very po- 
litely to ask Gen. Jackson. I approached a line of tents 
that looked as if they were abandoned; going among 
these, I was delighted by the sight of as fine a horse with 
equipment as I had ever seen. He was tied to a stake 
near a tent, and my heart fairly leaped to my throat as 
I went to him, untied and mounted him! As I started off 
a Yankee colonel came from a tent, spoke to me very po- 
litely, and intjuired what I intended to do with his horse. 
1 replied that I was very much obliged to him and would 
take good care of him for Harper's Ferry's sake. He 
asked me to stop, which I did. and he came forward and 
told me that probably I did not know the terms of the 
surrender ; then he told me that Gen. Jackson had al- 
lowed the officers to retain their arms, horses, equipments 
and private baggage, and added that he had no fear of 
my taking his horse after learning the terms. I sadly 
turned the horse's head toward the stake, rode him to it, 
and fastened him. The colonel invited me into his tent to 
take a lunch, as he called it, which was a big dinner for 
an old Confederate; he also i)laced several bottles on the 
table, from which I might help myself. T disliked the 
losing of the horse, but could ncjt lake him after the 
terms were made known to me; indeed, the behavior of 
the officer .so impressed me. that it would have saved the 
horse to him. if the terms had not been known! 

I walked around and looked at the long lines of stacked 
muskets, the park of artillery and wagons, gave up my 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 143 

notion of a horse, and soon wended my way back to our 
line over the route I had come. While I was inside of 
the enemy's fortification, I did not see a Confederate. 
We captured over eleven thousand prisoners, seventy- 
two pieces of artillery with caissons, horses, etc., about 
ten thousand muskets, several hundred wagons with 
mules, and a large cjuantity of stores. Gen. A. P. Hill 
and his division attended to the surrender. Jackson's 
and Ewell's divisions were withdrawn from the line, and, 
stacking arms, were allowed to rest. In the afternoon 
we were ordered to cook rations, and be ready to move 
as soon as possible; and, as night approached, w^e were 
under arms and marched, taking the road to Shepherds- 
town. 

SIIARPSBURG 

Jackson's division marched all night, passed through 
Shepherd stown the next morning, and forded the Poto- 
mac at Boteler's Ford, a little below the town. We were 
in Alaryland the second time. INIarching a short distance 
from the river, we came to the town of Sharpsburg, and 
passing through it, marched about a mile, halted near the 
Tunker or Dunkard church, stacked arms, and were told 
that we could rest. We remained there several hours 
and were much refreshed. We marched up the Hagers- 
town road about half a mile, when, in passing through 
a field, we were heavily assailed by shot and shell from 
the enemy. We marched a short distance and formed a 
line of battle; Jackson's division occupied the left of our 
line of battle, and was formed in two lines on the left 
or west of the Plagerstown road, and at nearly right 
angles to the road. The Second and Stonewall Brigades 
were formed in the front line, in a field, the Stonewall 



144 OXE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

Brigade resting on the Ilagcrstown road and connecting 
with Ewell's division, the Hne under the command of 
Lt. Col. A. J. Grigsby of the Stonewall Brigade. Starke's 
and the Third Brigade were formed in a wood about two 
or three hundred yards in our rear, and were commanded 
by Brig. Gen. Starke. We had been in position only a 
short time, when the enemy opened a heavy fire on us 
from guns in front and on our right. This was contin- 
ued until late in the niglit. We went to sleep in line! 
On the morning of the 17th we saw that McClellan 
had decidedly the advantage in position. His artillery 
in our front was on higher ground, and on the right his 
guns on high hills beyond the Antietam could enfilarle 
us, and farther up the mountain side we saw his signal 
flags at work. They seemed to overlook our entire 
line. We were not allowed to make much of an obser- 
vation before the enemy's shells dropped in our midst 
from batteries in front and flank, and this soon became 
the fiercest artillery fire of the war. It seemed that the 
air was alive with shells! This fire continued a short 
time, when their infantry in dense masses attacked us. 
After stubl)orn fighting, they were driven back with 
heavy loss, and the artillery commenced again, a fiercer 
fusilade than before! Gen. Jones, commanding the di- 
vision, left the field on account of injuries received from 
this fire! Brig. Gen. Starke, our commander in battle 
of Second Manassas, assumed command of the division, 
and ordered a charge by the entire division, which was 
promptly obeyed ; and while he was leading the division, 
received three musket balls, and fell dead! We retired 
to a lane on the edge of the field, where the fighting was 
terrific! We were finally forced back by overwhelming 
numbers into the woods, and here succeeded in driving 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 145 

the enemy back; we finally retired through the woods 
into a field, and were allowed by the enemy to rest a 
short time. 

Old F Company had reached low water mark! After 
Second Manassas there were only three men to answer 
roll call, — Malcolm L. Hudgins, Reuben J. Jordan, and 
John H. Worsham. As we had no officer, we were or- 
dered to report to Capt. Page of Company D, and when 
we did so, he called us young gentlemen, and told us we 
might march and camp anywhere we chose in the regi- 
ment, reporting to him once daily, and in the event of a 
fight, reporting at once; and ended by saying we might 
call the roll as often as we chose ! This gallant and good 
man had to pay the penalty of commanding F Company, 
losing a leg in this battle. We were known during the 
Maryland campaign as the guerrillas of the 21st. At 
Harper's Ferry the company had Hudgins and Jordan 
to stand up for them, and at Sharpsburg Hudgins got 
sick, and Jordan was the only man with the company in 
tliat terrible battle. By a singular circumstance, Jordan 
was detailed as a skirmisher, sent out to the front and, 
when the line was deployed, was on the left of that line, 
and was the soldier that held the left of Gen. Lee's line 
of battle. His position was on the edge of a wood, and 
when the line on his right in the field was driven back, 
Jordan gathered a few of his comrades from the right, 
and held back the line until he found he was outflanked 
on his left; and that the enemy's line was far in his 
rear. He made a run for safety, going back to our line 
of battle, and found that it had retired, and that he and 
his few comrades had been left! Hurrah for Jordan! 
Hurrah for F Company ! in having such a representative ! 
He passed along the lane and saw the great slaughter 



146 ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

of friend and foe, then to the woods and through them to 
a field. Here he noticed a body of men in the 
field to his right, but kept on until he reached the other 
side of the field where he found Gen. Jackson and staff. 
Inquiring of one of the staff for his division, he was told 
that the body of men he had passed was the remnant. 

At this moment Jackson was in the most critical posi- 
tion of his military career! His entire line had been 
driven back beyond the Dunkard church, and they were 
holding on now by a mere thread, but succor was at hand ! 
Brig. Gen. Early with his brigade which liad been de- 
tached to assist Gen. J. E. B. Stuart's cavalry on the ex- 
treme left, arrived, and McLaws' division was expected 
every minute ! 

Jordan, who had been retracing his steps in order to 
get to his command, now saw the first brigade of Mc- 
Laws arrive on the field, and heard the commanding of- 
ficer give his sharp command, *' On the right by file into 
line! Double quick! March!" In a run and under 
fire the line was formed. Jordan stopped long enough 
to inquire who they were and to see the line grow every 
moment, and then hurried to his command with the good 
news. Arriving, he saw Gen. Early and Col. Grigsby, 
commander of our division, in consultation. It is said 
that Early directed Grigsby with his division to make an 
attack on the enemy who were again advancing with a 
large force. That lie would take his brigade to the left, 
pass swiftly around the brow of a hill and attack the 
enemy in flank and rear. This attack was a great suc- 
cess, in which McLaws' troops joined, and the enemy 
were driven back at this point with great slaughter! 

Old Jack, who had !>een riding along his line, got his 
mettle up with this success, and ordered an advance along 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 147 

his entire line; the men repHed with the old yell, and the 
bayonet! The enemy were hurriedly driven out of the 
woods and across the Hagerstown road; and Jackson's 
old line was reestablished. The firing soon was confined 
to that of the sharpshooters; the enemy having suffered 
so much that they made no more attacks on Jackson's 
line. 

Oh, for a few more men! With one good division 
we could have routed the enemy ; but alas ! Gen. Lee had 
fought every man he had, except one division on his 
right! This was soon attacked and driven back, but A. 
P. Hill, who had just marched upon the field from Har- 
per's Ferry, seeing the situation, wheeled his division into 
line, and attacked the enemy with such vigor that they 
were driven across the Antietam ! 

At night we lay down on our arms, and the next morn- 
ing were up bright and early, expecting a renewal of the 
battle, but the enemy were badly whipped, and did not 
make any demonstration during the day. The skirmish 
fire, which was feeble, and occasionally a shelling from 
his far off guns, were all he attempted. 

The loss in Jackson's command was larger, in propor- 
tion to the men he had engaged, than in any battle he 
fought during the war. 

Col. Penn, commanding the Second Brigade, lost a leg; 
Capt. Page of the 2Tst Va. Regt., commanding the 
skirmishers of the brigade, lost a leg also; men and of- 
ficers were killed and wounded by hundreds ! Our bri- 
gade came out of the fight in command of Lieut. John 
A. Booker, of the 21st Va. Regt., and the division under 
command of Lieut. Col. Grigsby. It was no larger than 
a good regiment! 

The little Tunker or Dunkard church, situated in 



148 ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

the nice grove on the Ilag^erstown road, had become fa- 
mous. Around this church some of the fiercest flight- 
ing of the war had just taken place. Dead and wounded 
men lay in sight of it l)y thousands. 

During the night of the i8th we marched from our 
position towards the Potomac river, which all of Lee's 
army forded into \^irginia, my brigade crossing after 
sunrise on the morning of the 19th. 

Adl our army crossed in safety, and without molesta- 
tion. The enemy, however, attempted to follow us on 
the 20th. After a corps had crossed, Gen. Jackson or- 
dered A. P. Hill to attack them, and drive them back. 
I^ill attacked with his division and drove them back with 
great slaughter; driving them into the river, where most 
of them were drowned, very few reaching the Maryland 
shore. This ended the ]\Iaryland campaign. 



XVI 



FREDERICKSBURG 



After leaving Maryland, Jackson's Corps marched to 
the neighborhood of Martinsburg; here they were busy 
several days in the work of destroying the B. & O. R. R., 
tearing up the track for about forty miles. We took 
up the rails, laid them aside, pulled up and stacked the ties, 
then set them on fire, and placed the rails on them. When 
the rails became hot they bent. Whenever there were 
trees or telegraph poles convenient, we twisted the rails 
around them, w^hile they were hot in the center, which 
could easily be done. 

We stayed several weeks in the lower valley, mostly 
in Jefferson County, every few days moving our camp ; 
sometimes because of an alarm from the enemy, some- 
times merely to be in a fresh place. Gen. Jackson did 
not allow his men to camp in one place too long. New 
camps were more healthy, in consequence of which, we 
rarely stayed two weeks in the same place. It was very 
easy for the men to move, because by this time we had 
learned to live without tents. The only shelter the men 
had was oil or rubber cloths and cotton flies. The latter 
were pieces of cotton about four by six feet in size, 
hemmed around the borders. Button holes were worked 
around these borders and buttons sewed on at certain 
places ; they were so arranged that three of them buttoned 
together made a very comfortable shelter for three men. 
We were dependent on the Yankees for them, as I never 
heard of our quartermaster issuing any. The men who 

149 



150 OXE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

could not get these, made a '' shebang," by putting two 
forked stieks in the ground, ab(3ut six feet apart, laying 
a pole in the forks, placing bushes with one end on the 
ground, the other inclined to the pole, enclosing in this 
way one side and the ends, and leaving the other side 
open. This would accommodate three or four men. 
The men with care could make them impervious to rain. 
They were very comfortable in warm weather. In mov- 
ing, all that was needed was to roll up our tly or oilcloth 
and take it with us, put our small lot of cooking uten- 
sils in the wagons, put on our accouterments, and take 
arms. Then we were ready for a march to another 
camp, or to meet the enemy. 

While we were in one of these camps, one evening at 
regimental dress parade, one of the soldiers was con- 
ducted under guard along the front of the regiment with 
a large placard attached to him, on which " Thief " was 
written, two soldiers marching behind him with guns at 
charge bayonet ! This was the first and only man I saw 
punished in that way during the war. We punishetl 
some by making them ride a wooden horse, by standing 
on a stump, or by putting a barrel over them, with the 
inscription on it, showing what they had been guilty 
of. 

On Nov. 2 1st we took u]) our march to join Gen. Lee 
at bVedericksburg, it being reported that he thought he 
would soon need us. We marched up the valley pike, 
to New Market, left the valley pike, crossed tlie Massa- 
nutta Mountain, and crossed the lUue Ridge at 
Fisher's Gap. My brigade was in front while 
we were crossing the Blue Ridge, and we enjoyed one of 
the most inspiring views I saw during the war. It is said 
that the road leading over the mountain at this gap is 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 151 

six miles long from the valley to the top, and seven miles 
from the top to the foot in Madison County. Near the 
top, as we were marching, there was a large rock on the 
side of the road. Stepping on this rock, and looking 
back and down the road, we could see six lines of our 
army; in one place infantry, in another artillery, in an- 
other ambulances and wagons. Some seemed to be com- 
ing towards us, some going to the right, some to the left, 
and some going away from us. They were all, however, 
climbing the winding mountain road, and following us. 
We passed Madison C. FL, Orange C. H., through the 
Wilderness and by Chancellorsville, — which became fa- 
mous and full of grief before we left it ! — and on to the 
neighborhood of Guinea's Station on the R. F. & P. R. 
R. There we went into camp on Dec. 2d, having 
marched from fifteen to twenty-three miles each day since 
we left Winchester. 

Winter had come, and many of the men were shoeless. 
They could not obtain them, and finally orders were is- 
sued in Jackson's division, that the men should get the 
hides of the cattle we daily killed, and make moccasins 
of them. It became such a serious matter that a list of 
shoemakers in the division was made, a member of F 
Company was sent to Richmond to get leather, etc., in 
order to enable these men to make shoes in camp for their 
comrades! This man went to Richmond, attending to 
his orders, and on the morning of Dec. nth read a tele- 
gram that the enemy, now under Gen. Burnside, were 
crossing at Fredericksburg. He, at once, went to the 
Provost Marshal's ofifice to get a pass to leave the city 
(no one could leave without this permission) by the first 
train, but was told that he must report to Sergeant Crow, 
who would carry him up under guard, and turn him over 



152 ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

to his proper command. This indignity he did not in- 
tend to submit to, and so informed the officer, explaining 
to him how he was sent to Richmond, and showing him 
his papers, lie did not ask for transportation, as he 
was wilhng to pay his railroad fare; he only wanted the 
necessary permission to leave the city, in order to join 
his command and take his post in the expected battle ! 
The only answer he received was, " You must report to 
Sergeant Crow." He left, and went back three times 
during the day, with hope that he would find another man 
in command, who would be more civil and accommodat- 
ing; but without success. The next morning he went 
again very early, and one of the men there threatened 
to take him into custody; but he left very quickly. He 
returned about an hour later, when an old comrade, who 
had witnessed the way in which his friend was treated 
the day before, quietly slipped a pass into his hand. This 
comrade was an old member of our regiment, who had 
lost a leg in battle, when he was with us, and was at this 
time employed in the provost office. This is mentioned 
to show how far red tape goes! 

Going at once to the depot, he boarded a train that was 
pulling out. and reached Guinea's about one or two 
o'clock on the 12th. Making inquiries, he learned that 
Jackson's cori)s had gone to the front, and after tiresome 
walking found his command at Hamilton's Crossing, 
awaiting orders to take its place in line of battle. On 
the morning of Dec. 13th, Jackson's division was assigned 
to Jackson's second line of battle and was lying down 
on the ground, awaiting the movements of the enemy. 
Gen. Jackson soon made his ai)pcarance along the line 
with a cavalcade of officers following him. He was 
dressed in a brand-new uniform, with the usual gold 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 153 

lace trimmings for a lieutenant general. He even had 
exchanged the old gray cap for a new bespangled one, 
and looked so unlike our '^ Old Jack " that very few 
noticed him, and none recognized him until after he had 
passed. Then the old accustomed cheer to him went up 
with unusual vigor ! About ten o'clock the fog lifted, and 
the cannonading from the enemy commenced ; it was aw- 
fully terrific, as, it is said, they had two hundred and 
fifty or three hundred guns, sending shot and shell at 
us! Soon afterwards the Yankees in our front made 
their advance. We were in the woods on a slight hill, 
that overlooked an immense open field. The number of 
the enemy visible to us gave the impression that the 
whole of the Yankee army was in our front ! A battery 
to our right and front was pouring shot and shell into 
them as they advanced. We learned after the fight that 
it was Pelham's! What a grand and heroic stand he 
maintained during the battle! Jackson's artillery was 
posted along our front, but did not fire a shot at the ad- 
vancing lines until they got within easy range, when all 
of it opened at once, and sent its hail of iron into the 
dense masses, making them stagger, then stop, and then 
retreat to a road, where they were protected by its banks 
and fences! An hour or so afterwards they made an- 
other advance, and this time with so much determination 
that they broke the first of our lines, and commenced the 
advance more vigorously; when our second line was or- 
dered forward, and charged! After some stubborn 
fighting at several points, they were driven back along 
their entire line with great loss. They continued their 
retreat to the road and river bank. Their skirmishers 
and batteries kept up a fire during the whole day. 

A splendid line of breastworks had been made around 



154 ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

Marye's liill, extending along the line of Generals Hill 
and I^ngstreet. They did not extend as far east as the 
position occupied by Jackson during the battle of Fred- 
ericksburg on Dec. 13. The fight in Jackson's front 
was a regular stand-up one ; the only protection we had 
was such as the woods afforded. As evening advanced, 
Jackson arranged his lines ; the second brigade occupy- 
ing the railroad in the first line of battle. Here we 
awaited the expected advance of the enemy, and only 
wished they would come. Skirmish fire and fire from 
their far guns was kept up at intervals during the 14th. 
The next day the enemy asked permission to look after 
their wounded, who were in the field in Jackson's front. 
This was granted, and the pickets or sharpshooters of 
each army ceased firing, and entered into friendly con- 
verse, traded tobacco, coft'ee, and sugar. Night ap- 
proached, and put a stop to this; and each man took his 
place in line, ready to shoot the man in his front on 
sight ! The next morning we learned lliat the enemy had 
taken advantage of the night, and had crossed the Rappa- 
hannock. The fight on the left of Lee's line, at Marye's 
Hill, had been terrific, and the enemy had been slaugh- 
tered by thousands. The loss in Jackson's corps was not 
large, Brig. Gen. Gregg being amongst the kille<l. There 
was a larger number uf cannon used in this battle tlian in 
any previous battle, the situation being such as to give 
them fine positions. 



XVII 

WINTER QUARTERS 1 862-3 

On Dec. ly Jackson's Corps left the battle field of 
Fredericksburg, and marched down the Rappahannock 
river to be better located for protection against the 
weather and observation of the enemy. About this time 
the First Va., or Irish Battalion, was detached from our 
brigade and made provost guard for the Army of North- 
ern Virginia, and the 44th and 50th Va. regiments were 
added to our brigade. 

About Jan. ist, 1863, Maj. Gen. J. R. Trimble was as- 
signed to the command of Jackson's division. He re- 
mained with us until about March ist, when he was or- 
dered to another command. About this time Brig. Gen. 
J. R. Jones left the Second Brigade. 

Jackson's division went into camp at Moss Neck, where 
we made our winter quarters. These were huts made of 
any material that could be gotten, and in any way the 
architect of the party thought best. The greater number 
were of logs. A few men had tents. The men soon 
made themselves very comfortable. A large picket was 
required along the river, which was several miles from 
our camp ; a brigade was sent, staying there several days. 
The picket guard was sent to the front from the brigade 
by companies, and, as each company arrived at its des- 
tination, it was divided into squads. These squads sta- 
tioned themselves near the picket post, erected a shelter 
of cloth, brush, etc., built a fire in front of the shelter, 
and tried to be comfortable while not on duty as sentinels 

155 



156 ONE OF JACKSOX'S FOOT CAVALRY 

on the picket line. But in snow and cold rains, the 
weather tried men's souls ! While they were on this out- 
post picket duty, a soldier's nerves, too, were tried ! Far 
to the front he stood on his lonely beat, only occasionally 
moving because he feared he nli^ht attract the attention 
of the enemy's sentinel on similar duty, who might shoot 
him from a distance, or creep up later and shoot him ! 

A party of the enemy may steal up on him, and take 
him prisoner! Knowledge of this created an uneasy feel- 
ing tliat could not be gotten rid of, and the man on out- 
post guard was uneasy until he was again in camp with 
his comrades ! 

Occasionally some of the men went down to the river's 
tdge, and had a talk with the Yanks on the other side. 
Sometimes a little boat was made of bark or a piece of 
rail, which, with the assistance of the wind and tide, now 
and then crossed to the other shore ; and in this manner 
papers and tobacco were exchanged. 

After getting back to camp, the brigade had its daily 
drills, camp guard duty, inspections, etc. The daily roll 
calls and co(A'ing left very little idle time for the Confed- 
erate soldier. Notwithstanding this, one could always 
hear someone singing, laughing, whistling, or in some 
way indicating that the camp was not dead. We indulged 
in games of all kinds, ball, marbles, drafts, chess, cards, 
etc., and when the snow was on the ground wc had great 
fun snowballing! T have seen several times more than 
twenty-five hnn(h'e(l men engaged in a game of snow- 
ball! 

No one who has imi had the experience, knows what 
a soldier undergoes on a march. We start off on a march 
some beautiful morning in spring, at midday slight clouds 
are seen floating about, which thicken with the appear- 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 157 

ance of a heavy storm soon to come; the instinct of 
home comes over us, and, instead of the merry chatter 
of the morning, stillness pervades the ranks. Each man 
is thinking of home and some place to shelter himself 
from the storm. The command, '' Close up ! " awakens 
him from his reverie, and he is made to think of his 
place in ranks. A flash of lightning and a loud peal of 
thunder, causes him to realize his position all the more, 
and now the rain commences and soon pours down ! 
Poor fellow! he pulls down his hat, buttons up his jacket, 
pulls up his collar, and tries to protect his gun. In a 
short while he feels the water running down his arms 
and legs, but he is defiant yet, and the same good old 
Confederate! Now the water is slowly feeling its way 
down his back, and, as it gradually covers him, the cour- 
age goes out, and when his back gets completely wet, he", 
for a few minutes, forgets that he is a Confederate sol- 
dier! The thought only lasts a few minutes, and the 
storm within him breaks loose, resulting in his cursing 
the Confederacy, the generals, and everything in the 
army, and even himself! Then, with a new inspiration, 
he commences on the Yankees, is himself carried away, 
and is once more the good old Confederate soldier, march- 
ing along at a brisk rate, in the pelting rain! He is all 
right now, conversation commences, and when he reaches 
camp he builds his fire, and has something to eat. It 
makes very little difference, when he lies down to rest, 
w^hether it is raining or not ! 

We went through equal trials in very dusty marches; 
when our eyes, our noses, our mouths, our ears, and, in 
fact, our w^hole person became soiled with dirt, and dust 
finding its way all over one. Besides, we had muddy 
days to march in! We soon got our shoes full, our 



158 ONE OF JACKSOX'S FOOT CAVALRY 

pants wet to the knees, and some comrade, stepping into 
a mud hole, would throw it all over one! Ask Tom 
Ellett w^hat he thinks of marching in the mud, and be 
sure to do so when he is in a good humor! Then think 
of the marches in hot weather, when we became so hot 
and tired that we could hardly put one foot before 
the other, but on we went, the word, " Close up! " being 
always in our ears ! In winter, too, amid sleet and snow, 
and sometimes when it was so cold that with an overcoat 
on we could not keep warm, indeed, any season, makes 
no difference to the soldier; when he is ordered to fall in, 
he takes his place in ranks, ready to face whatever may 



come 



At the commencement of the war. soon after starting 
on a march we were given the route step, on passing 
a village or town we were called to attention, and 
marched through with military precision ; but towards 
the close of the war, we generally kept the route step 
throughout the march, as all had learned that the men 
got along so much better and could march much farther, 
by being allowed to carry their guns as they chose, and 
take their natural step. 

One thing the government managed well, and that 
was the mail for the soldiers. In my brigade we had 
a man who was the mail carrier, the government furnish- 
ing a horse for this purpose. The letters written by the 
soldiers were delivered at regimental headf|uarters. where 
our carrier came for them, taking all that were handed 
him by the soldiers, too, whence he would start for the 
nearest post office at some depot (^r village. There he 
delivered his mail, and if he found there any mail di- 
rected to the men of his command, he brought it to us 
at once. If there were none, he would go to the next 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 159 

place, and to the next, until he found it; and brought 
it to us. His arrival was a great event in camp. Be- 
cause he had no regular hour for returning, some of the 
men were always on the lookout for him, both day and 
night, and heralded his coming. On his arrival, there 
was a gathering of men from each company at regimental 
headquarters, w^ho got their company's mail, took it to 
company's quarters, looked over it, and called out the 
names of the men to whom it was addressed. It made 
no difference as to hour, whether it was day, or one or 
two o'clock at night, when a man's name was called for 
a letter, he was generally on hand to get it in person, 
unless on duty. It was interesting to watch those fel- 
lows as they gathered for their mail. Those who re- 
ceived letters went off with radiant countenances, and, if 
it was night, each built a fire to himself, for light, and, 
sitting down on the ground, read his letter over and over ; 
while those unfortunates wdio got none, went off looking 
as if they had not a friend on earth! In the beginning 
of the war, postage was not required to be prepaid on 
letters from soldiers in the field, the postage being col- 
lected on the delivery of the mail. In directing the letter 
to soldiers it was only necessary to write name, company, 
regiment, brigade, division and command. This was 
the rule in Jackson's command, and I suppose in the 
army generally. There was no post of^ce or location 
mentioned, because we moved about so much our post 
ofifice was continually changing. Notwithstanding this 
roundabout way for letters to travel, I never heard of 
one being lost either going to or from the army! Reg- 
ularly sometimes for two or three weeks, we would re- 
ceive a mail daily, then it would be several days, and 
sometimes a week before another came, but the letters 



i6o OXE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

always liirned up. If the carrier overtook us while we 
were on a march, the mail was distributed and collected. 
I have seen it delivered in this way just before a battle. 
It is surprising^ how the Confederacy got along with 
such a small variety of medicines, which consisted, in the 
field, almo.st entirely of blue powders, one kind of pills, 
and quinine. Go with me to the ** sick or doctor's call," 
this morning. Reaching the surgeon's quarters, the 
sick were lined up, and the surgeon with the hospital 
steward passed along. The first man accosted was asked, 
*' What is the matter with you? " The answer is some- 
thing like this: *' I don't know, doctor, but I have a 
terrible misery here," designating the locality by placing 
his hands on his stomach. " Put out your tongue," says 
the doctor. After an examination, the doctor says to 
Blunt, the hospital steward of my regiment, ** Give him 
a blue powder." Hie next is examined in about the 
same manner, with instructions to Blunt to give him two 
pills; the next is given lo grains of quinine. Then the 
treatment is varied by giving to the next one pill and 
5 grains of quinine, to the next a blue pcnvder and qui- 
nine, the treatment varying as the supply of pills, blue 
powder and quinine holds out. Occasionally .some fa- 
vored one was given a gill of whiskey; nearly every man 
thereafter developed the same symptoms! IVobably one 
of the men has an aching tooth; the doctor tells him 
to take a seat on some log near by, that he will make an 
examination presently. 11ie ])oor fellow seats him- 
.self and waits his turn. When the doctor comes to 
him. he looks his mouth over and says, ** It must come 
out," goes to his tent, gets a ]).'iir of f(orcej)S. and. on his 
return, straddles the log, inserts the instrument in the 
man's mouth, takes holds of a tooth, and by main 



I 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY i6i 

strength, after a lengthy struggle, succeeds in pulling an 
excellent tooth ! — but he cures the ache. 

This was about the daily routine in camp, and it was 
surprising how many cures were effected with this limited 
supply of medicines. The surgeon and hospital stew- 
ard of my regiment were always kind and considerate to 
the sick, and did all in their power for them. I will men- 
tion the treatment used on the first man of my company, 
whom I saw after he was wounded. The surgeon gave 
the nurse a bottle of whiskey, with instructions to put 
a spoonful in the water used, each time he dressed the 
wound. 

Old '' F " Company of Richmond had become so 
small, that the three or four men with it were ordered, 
in January, 1863, to Camp Lee, Richmond, to recruit. 
They enlisted a few men as soon as they reached the 
camp, and commenced squad drill ; and subsequently, 
company drill, as soon as they enlisted enough to call it 
a company, entering upon camp guard duty, policing, 
and other duties at once. The old members of the com- 
pany did all in their power to make efficient soldiers of 
the recruits, who were conscripts of boyhood and mid- 
dle age and some old substitutes. On June 21st we 
received orders to get ready to leave Camp Lee the next 
day, to join our regiment which was with Lee's army. 

All the old members were allowed to go into the city 
to bid family and friends good-by, and to take a last 
look at some bright eyes, it somehow taking longer to 
bid that pair of eyes farewell than it did to take leave 
of a whole family. This consumed the larger part of 
the day; the remainder we diligently devoted to prepa- 
rations for moving promptly the next morning. As night 
came on, instead of going to bed, each man stole off 



i62 ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

quietly to the city to look once again into those eyes 
to which he had already bidden farewell, returnini^ in 
time to get a short nap before day. After breakfast 
we marched out of Camp Lee to the Central depot, 
where we took the cars for Staunton. 

The following are the names of the members of F 
Company who left for Staunton, June 2j, 1863: 



* Captain, William A. Peg- 

ram. 

* Second Lieut., Reuben J. 

Jordan. 

* Jr. Second Lieut., Mal- 

colm L. Iludgins. 

* First Sergeant, William 

S. Archer. 
*Second Sergeant, John II. 
Worshani. 

* Third Sergeant, J. Por- 

ter Wren. 

Fourth Sergeant, T. Walk- 
er. 

First Corporal, E. Gould- 
man. 

Second Corporal, W. C. 
Tincy. 

Third Corporal, George J. 
Floyd. 

Fourth Corporal, Henry F. 
Munt. 

Anderson. Joseph II. 
P>arbcr, N. 
Bates, W. 



Bowe, IT. C. 
Brown, A. D. 
Brown, A. H. 
I'rown, George W. 
Brown, Henry. 
P>rown, lames R. 
Callis, G. 
Coleman. N. 
Couch, J. M. 
Cumbia, W. S. 
Dillard, R. H. 
Divers, W. II. 
Dowdy, Nathaniel A. 
Fox, Henry C. 
Gentry, M. G. 
Griffin, J. 
Hawkins, L. A. 
Houston. George W. 
Johnston, J. W. 
Kayton, P. W. 
Kidd, J. A. 
Mason. J. M. 
Merriman, J. T. 
Nance, J. L. 
Richeson. P. S. 
Richeson, William R. 



♦ Old members. 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 163 

Rutledge, William. Soles, R D. 

Searles, S. Traimim, C. 

Seay, M. Tyree, William C. 

Simpson, F. J. Wallace, R. H. 

Smith, J. T. Wilkins, J. M. 

Smith, Thomas. Wood, S. E. 

We were joined afterwards by a few of the old mem- 
bers and the following new ones : 

Bates, Edward. Seay, W. C. 

Legg, A. C. Smith, Henry. 

And W. E. Cumbie, who was transferred to our com- 
pany from the 24th Va. Battalion in exchange for R. 
H. Wallace. 

During the summer of 1862, Col. John M. Patton of 
the 2 1st Regt. had been transferred to Maj. Gen. An- 
derson's division of Longstreet's corps. Lt.-Col. Cun- 
ningham had been killed, and during the fall Major John 
B. Moseley left the regiment. This left the regiment 
without a field officer. W^hile the regiment was in camp 
at Moss Neck, the following appointments were made 
to fill vacancies : 

William A. Witcher, Col- William P. Moseley, Ma- 

onel. jor. 

William R. Berkeley, Lt. 

Col. 

Lt.-Col. Berkeley remained with the regiment only a 
short time, when Major W^illiam P. Moseley was made 
lieutenant-colonel, and A. D. Kelley, major. Those 
three remained with the regiment until the surrender. 



XVIII 

LIEUT.-GEN. JACKSON 

The battle of Chancellorsville was fought May 2(1, 
1863. Gen. Jackson's great flank movement against 
Hooker was managed with skill and success. Jackson 
was wounded and unfortunately by his own men, and 
died on the lOth, in the height of his fame. It was soon 
known in the army of Northern Virginia. The men of 
his old division were prostrated with grief, nearly every 
man in it sheddinsr tears. 

Gen. Lee's conduct when he heard of the wounding 
of Jackson and afterwards at his death, caused the old 
division to love him more than ever. What a loss to 
the Confederacy. What a loss to tlie army of Northern 
Virginia, and to Lee, its commander, who said he had 
" lost his right arm," and what a loss to his corps. 
Never more will his sword flash in the enemy's rear, nor 
will he see his banner floating in one of his fierce at- 
tacks on their flank, nor will he hear the wild cheers of 
his men as they drive everything before them. In my 
humble opinion, the army never recovered from the loss 
of Jackson. 

There was something about Jackson that always at- 
tracted his men. It must have been faitli. He was the 
idol of his old soldiers, and they would follow him any- 
where ; the very sight of him was the signal for cheers. 
It made no difference where he was, in camp, on the 
battlefield, or on a march, when the men were so thor- 
oughly used up that they could hardly put one foot 

164 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 165 

before the other, or they were lying down resting on 
the roadside, when he came riding by each man jumped 
to his feet, pulled off his hat and cheered him. This 
was always done with one exception. While we were 
marching around Pope, to get into his rear at Manassas, 
one evening, we came upon Gen. Jackson and his staff 
dismounted and standing in a field a few yards from the 
road, and the little sorrel lying down nibbling at the 
grass. As soon as the men recognized " Old Jack," hats 
came off and the usual cheer was about to break forth, 
when one of his staff standing near the road said to 
them, " No cheering, men ; the enemy will hear you, and 
Gen. Jackson requests that you will not cheer." This 
was repeated by the men all down the marching column, 
and, as the men passed their beloved commander, they 
took off their hats, some waving them at the general, 
others flinging them in the air. Not one cheer was 
given, but some of the fellows nearly " busted " keeping 
it back. It was here that Gen. Jackson said, " With 
such soldiers, who could keep from winning battles." 

What shall I say of Jackson's wonderful marches? 
His men have long since been known as '* Jackson's Foot 
Cavalry," from his long and rapid marches. We have 
often marched daily for a week, and on some occasions 
for three weeks, and on many days twenty-five miles. 
I do not think my brigade ever marched over thirty 
miles without stopping for a rest of several hours; but 
some of the regiments of the old division have marched 
over forty miles, only stopping occasionally for a ten 
minutes' rest. We have often marched and fought all 
day, and in case of a pursuit of the enemy, kept the 
march up all night, and a part of the next day. 

It was in battle that the men showed their great love 



i66 ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

for and confidence in Gen. Jackson, his old soldiers hav- 
ing implicit confidence in him. Flow many times his 
old command wished him back, to lead in one of his 
furious attacks on the enemy. 

The South produced many generals of great ability, 
but for brilliancy and dash, the world never saw Stone- 
wall Jackson's equal. 

'* Let us pass over the river, and rest under the shade of 
the trees." 



I 



XIX 



WILLIAMSPORT 



On the arrival of our company at Staunton on June 
22, 1863, we met orders to take charge of about one 
hundred stragglers of Lee's army, who had been col- 
lected there, in order to march with us to the army of 
Northern Virginia, and be delivered to the provost 
guard. 

We left Staunton on the 24th with stragglers and 
nothing else; no baggage wagon, no cooking utensils, 
no rations, as the men expressed it, " No nothing." On 
account of those stragglers, who gave us a great deal of 
trouble, we made short marches, and stopped at a barn 
on the way at night. It was necessary to guard our 
stragglers, and the company could do it better by having 
them in a house. We induced someone in the neigh- 
borhood of our stopping place to let us have rations, 
generally to cook them also; and in this manner we 
reached the Potomac river opposite Williamsport, Md., 
on the morning of July 4, without rations or cooking 
utensils. After a visit to Williamsport by some of the 
officers who found no rations there, a detail was made 
and sent to a mill not far off to '' press " flour, if it could 
not be gotten otherwise. This detail went to the mill 
and seized two barrels of flour, secured a wagon to haul 
it, and then went to a hog pen in the neighborhood for 
a hog. They were told by its owner that bacon could 
be gotten at a certain store in Williamsport, where they 
found as much as they wanted. Having no cooking 

167 



i68 ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

utensils, and having a baker in the company, they de- 
cided to bring into service one of the " Dutch ovens " 
found in that part of the country at nearly all the houses. 
It was now late in the evening; we decided to do the best 
we could for the night, and use the oven in the morn- 
ing. A sergeant with a file of men went into town early 
the next morning, took possession of an excellent oven, 
and went to work. During the day of the 5th, F Com- 
pany disposed of the stragglers, and crossed the Potomac 
into Williamsport, marched through the town to the 
northeast side, stacked arms, and there received the 
cooked rations. 

An officer was found in the town who said he had 
orders from Gen. Lee to stop all men here, as the battle 
of Gettysburg had been fought, and Gen. Lee intended 
to fall back into Virginia by this route. Many of his 
wagons had already arrived, and others were coming in 
every moment in large numbers. As the river was too 
high to l)c forded, because of recent rains, they were 
being parked along the river under the bluff near the 
town. This officer asked our captain to remain with 
his company, as it was thought that a raiding party of 
the Yankees might make an attempt to capture or de- 
stroy the train ; and, as there was only one organized 
regimenl at the place, he thought it the duty of our com- 
I)any to stay. During the afternoon and night of the 
5th there was much talk of Yankee cavalry coming. 

On the morning of the 6th of July, the company 
formed a line, and stacked arms in a field overlooking 
two roads tliat ran into the town, 'fhe nu-n were or- 
dered to stay near their arms, a picket under a sergeant 
was sent out on the road that the enemy would use, with 
orders to allow no one U) go outside. Soon after the 




FOURTH CAPTAIN WILLIAM A. PEGRAM 



Opposite page 168. 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 169 

picket was posted, a young lady and a boy on horse- 
back passed the picket going into the town. She was 
a line looking woman, and, as she passed, gave nie a bow 
and a smile. She stayed in town an hour or two, then 
started to go out, but was stopped by the sentinel. I 
was called, and she stated that she was returning home, 
and had no idea we would prevent her return; that she 
had been in town on business, and told me what it was. 
Although I told her my orders, she tried to induce me 
to let her pass, but without success. I told her I would 
go with her to see our captain, and probably he might 
let her pass. I did this, and the officers consulted and 
agreed to it ; but a little Georgian, who overheard the 
conversation, said to the captain, " You ain't going to 
let that woman pass, are you? She is a spy, come in 
here to lind out all she can, and now she is going back 
to tell the Yankees." It was then decided not to lot her 
])ass. She asked me where the commanding otTicer was. 
1 tokl her who he was and where his otTice was located 
in town, and she asked me to go with her to see the 
otlicer. 1 could not leave my picket post, and turned the 
duty over to our handsome orderly sergeant. Willie 
Archer. She did not got the permission, and from what 
we heard afterwards, it was well she did not. 

The day passed quietly. The wheat and hay recently 
cut was shocked in the fields around the town, most of 
it. however, on the two roatls in our front and beyond 
our picket post. The teamsters were cpiietly getting 
both for iced, some in \\ag(>ns and i^thers on the backs 
of nuiles. About four or li\e o'clock in the afternoon 
a pistol shot was heard ant! a great comnuHion was seen 
amc^ngst the teamsters farthest from us. Soon the tield 
was lull oi \'ankee ca\alry. whoc^ping. yelling and tiring 



I70 ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

pistols; riding up to the wagons that had hay ur wheat, 
ordering them to halt, and, instead of injuring (jr detain- 
ing them, quietly pulling out matches and firing the 
provender, and then letting them go. Mules were seen 
flying across the field with a llame of fire leaping from 
them, which would last only a few seconds before the 
rider would have it off, and in many instances himself 
off too, in his eft'orts to remove the burning hay or w'heat. 
Many wagons were burned. 

During the day all the broken down artillery that 
had been sent along with the wagon train was placed 
on some prominent place around the town, the guns 
making a formidable appearance. I have been told 
there were twenty-two pieces, and all in view ; that some 
hacl no ammunition, some had no chests, some a few- 
shot, and some of the pieces were disabled, but they 
made a show. 

The enemy had now brought out of the woods into 
the field in full view of us, eight pieces of artillery and 
a large body of mounted cavalry, which had formed a 
line of battle. A body of dismounted men with mounted 
officers were busy leveling fences. The dismounted men 
had approached a lot of farm buildings about four hun- 
dred yards from our company. Our picket post had 
been called in, guns loaded, and our company formed as 
skirmishers. Captain Pegram took in the situation at 
once, and acted promptly. IJe knew wc could not hold 
our position in the open field against these large odds, 
and remarked to some of the old members of the com- 
pany that there were only two things for him to do: 
attack or retreat; and that he was going to charge the 
enemy, lie gave the order, " lu^rward ! double rjuick! " 
and to the farm buildinirs we went in a run. 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 171 

We had fifty-two men present in our company, nearly 
all of whom were substitutes and conscripts; one of 
them even fainted when he saw the enemy, another had 
a terrible ache and had to lie down on the ground, where 
we could hear him groaning after firing commenced. 
This reduced us to fifty. A few stragglers, including the 
little Georgian, named Ward, of Wright's brigade, wear- 
ing a red Zouave cap, volunteered to go with us. This 
made about sixty, all told, who went into action. 

About fifty yards in our front it was necessary to 
climb over the first fence, and there the Yankees opened 
fire on us. About half way to the farm buildings we 
encountered the second fence. There was a lane from 
the buildings towards the town, with a fence on each 
side of it, and at its end a gate that opened into the 
barn yard. Our advance was oblique to this lane. Soon 
after we passed the second fence, the left of our line 
came to the lane fence. I was on the left and went over 
the fence into the lane, requiring three or four men to 
follow me, amongst whom was the little Georgian. We 
ran up the lane to the gate which I threw open, and 
rushed into the barn yard, the little Georgian following, 
and I think old man Callis next. A mounted officer was 
in the yard, '' cursing " and flourishing a pistol. As I 
entered the yard, I told the men to shoot him, but he 
leveled his pistol at us and fired, and the little Georgian 
fell dead — as gallant a little fellow as I ever saw. I 
cannot say that the officer killed him, since the enemy 
were firing briskly from several points in the yard at us. 
My men fired at the officer, who rode off bowed down 
on his horse. I was told a few days afterwards by a 
citizen, that he was a major and was wounded. I can 
truly say he was a gallant man. A small house in the 



172 ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

barn yard and on the right of the lane, with its rear 
towards us, was occupied by some uf the enemy, who 
were firing at us. As I ran around to the door, I met 
some of my company who had by this time gotten into 
the yard from the other side, and we brouglit out five 
Yankee cavalrymen, and sent them to the rear. 

W'e had now cleared the yard and buildings of all 
opponents; but the fight was on in earnest, the enemy 
having opened with their artillery, some firing at us, 
others at our guns on the hills. We took up a position 
along a rail fence beyond the buildings, and about half 
way between the two roads before mentioned and par- 
allel to them, keeping up our fire on any of the enemy 
we could see to be within range. Our right had suf- 
fered more than the left. Inside the barn yard were 
lying Sergeant Walker and Corporal Tinney, both dead, 
and both splendid soldiers — in all, three of our men 
killed, including the Georgian. We captured, wounded, 
and killed fifteen of the enemy in the barn yard. Wc 
now found that the enemy were advancing on the road 
in our rear, and we fell back to that road, and were 
j(jined there by a company of about thirty, mostly strag- 
glers. Placing a few of our company along a cross 
fence to protect our flank, wc kept up a fierce fire in 
front. Soon Capt. l^egram was killetl, another one of 
old V to join Jackson " under the shade of the trees." 
The ^'ankees were shelling us very heavily, and, their 
dismounted men largely increased, had possession of the 
fence which we had relinfjuished, and were firing heavily 
at us. A regiment of our men, that was at tlie river 
with our train, now made its api)earance, drove the 
Yanks from the fence. Our line was lengthened on the 
left by a large body of arnuMl wagoners, so that our 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 173 

company moved farther to the right. We kept up our 
fire until night, when the enemy disappeared. 

This I consider the best fight of F Company during 
the war. With nearly all new men, only six or eight of 
the old company, we attacked and drove the enemy and 
held the position against tremendous odds. Buford, who 
made the attack, had present twelve regiments of cav- 
alry and twelve pieces of artillery. When he made his 
appearance in front of our company, there was no armed 
body of men between him and Gen. Lee's entire wagon 
train, except this small company. We had been fighting 
nearly half an hour before the company of thirty men, 
and three-quarters of an hour before the regiment, came 
to our assistance ; and I repeat, it was the best fight the 
company ever made, and, in its results, one of the best 
of the war. The new men, except those noted, behaved 
like veterans, and every one did his duty, and they cov- 
ered themselves with glory. 

Our loss as before stated was four killed, including 
the Georgian. One of the substitutes became frightened 
when the enemy opened their artillery, and ran towards 
the wagons. As he approached a fence, one of the 
enemy's shells burst in front of him, tearing the fence 
to pieces ; this so '' conflumuxed " him that he ran back 
to us saying, '' No whar was safe." He stayed with us 
during the remainder of the fight, and with the loss of 
a piece of skin knocked from his shin, was the only one 
wounded. 

In the death of Capt. William A. Pegram we suf- 
fered a great loss. Young, unassuming, but a true sol- 
dier, by his gallantry he was notable on many a battle- 
field. We buried him the next day in the cemetery at 
Williamsport, and the three men on the field, which they 



174 OXE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

gave their lives to win. We marched in the afternoon 
to Hagerstown, sleeping that night on the brick pave- 
ment at the market house, resuming our march early 
the next morning, July 8, 1863, and joining our regi- 
ment in their bivouac two miles from Hagerstown. 

During the absence of F Company from the army, 
several changes were made in officers. Lt.-Gen. Rich- 
ard S. Kwell was made commander of the Second Corps, 
Maj.-Gen. Edward Johnson was made commander of 
Jackson's Division, and Brig.-Gen. J. M. Jones com- 
mander of the Second Brigade. The battles of Chan- 
cellorsville, Winchester and Gettysburg had been fought, 
and on our uniting with our regiment they told us of 
those battles and we told them of Williamsport. 

When Gen. Lee arrived in the neighborhood of Wil- 
liamsport and found that his army could not cross the 
Potomac on account of a rise in the river, he promptly 
turned his army back, and formed a line of battle near 
Hagerstown. Mere he awaited an attack from Meade, 
who marched his army up in front of Lee's, had some 
skirmisliing, ancl began to fortify: we following his 
example. Gen. Lee had thrown a |)ontoun bridge across 
the Potomac at Falling Waters, about four or five miles 
below Williamsport. 'J1iis had been i)artially destroyed 
after Gettysburg by a raiding party of the enemy's from 
Harper's Ferry. While we were in line at Hagerstown, 
Gen. Lee had this bridge repaired, and the wagons 
passed over it ; in the meantime the river had fallen 
enough for the men to ford it. Gen. Ewell withdrew 
his corps from the line on llic night of the i3lh. march- 
ing all night, and reaching the Potomac a short dis- 
tance above Williamsport about daybreak. We 
marched at once into the river and forded, the water 




1863 



e^iP <^frried an oil cloth, in which was wrapped a blanket, drawers and 
rnn I'.ST"^'' ' V ^hich was towel, soap and needle case; canteen, tin 
cup and tm can for cookmg. 



Opposite page 174. 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 175 

taking us up to our breasts. It was necessary that a 
comrade and myself should help little Bates, and every 
time we stumbled on some of the large rocks at the 
bottom of the stream, his head went under the water. 
The remainder of our army crossed at the same time on 
the pontoon bridge. 

Our army at this time was in a sad plight as to cloth- 
ing. Hundreds had no shoes, thousands were as ragged 
as they could be, some with the bottom of their pants 
in long frazzles, others with their knees out, others out 
at their elbows, and their hair sticking through holes 
in their hats. Some of the men patched their clothing, 
and it was usually done with any material they could 
get; one man having the seat of his pants patched with 
bright red, his knees patched with black; another with 
a piece of gray or brown blanket; in fact, with any- 
thing one could get. There were so few patches, how- 
ever, and so many holes, that it was not surprising that 
one of the Pennsylvania girls in a party on the side of 
the road looking at us pass, when she was asked by her 
mother how the officers were distinguished from the 
privates, replied that it was easy enough, because the 
officers' pants were patched, and the privates' pants 
w^ere not. 



XX 



CAMP MONTPELIER THE GREAT RELIGIOUS REVIVAL 

REVIEW OF SECOND CORPS THE ADVANCE 

AGAINST MEADE 

The 14th of July found the army of Northern Vir- 
jTfinia hack in Virginia from the Pennsylvania campaip^n. 
Gen. Lee crossed the Blue Ridge into Orange County 
with all his troops except Ewell's Corps, which was left 
in the valley, engaged in destroying the B. & O. R. R. 
On the 20th Ewell's corps took up our march to join 
Gen. Lee, and marched through Winchester to Manassas 
Gap. Here we learned that the enemy had advanced 
into the Gap from the other side of the Blue Ridge, and 
were trying to effect an entrance into the Luray Valley. 
W'e had some heavy skirmishing with them, which lasted 
until late in the night, when they withdrew. In the 
morning we marched up the Luray Valley to Thornton's 
Gap. where we crossed the mountain and marched to 
Orange County, joined Gen. Lee on August ist, and 
went into camp at Montpelier, the old home of Presi- 
dent Madison. This last day's march was the hottest 
I ever experienced: more than half the men falling out 
of ranks on tlic march, overcome hy the heat. Every 
tree we came to along the road side had a sfjuad of men 
under its shade, officers as well as privates. While in 
this camp that splendid regiment, the 25th Va., was 
added to our hrigade. We remained in camp at Mont- 
pelier until the 14th, when we marched to Liberty Mills 
to meet some movement of the enemy ; remained there 
until the i6th, at which time we returned to Montpelier. 

176 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 177 

It was reported one evening, while we were at Liberty 
Mills, that a small body of Yankees was at the Madison 
County poor house. A detail of men and an officer were 
sent there to capture them. I was one of the party. 
We started as soon as we could get ready, which was a 
little after sunset. Soon after we left camp a severe 
thunder storm arose. I do not know that I ever saw 
one more severe. It rained in torrents, the thunder 
roared, the lightning flashed, and in the midst of it all 
we trudged along an unknown road without a guide. 
No one in the party had ever been over the road before. 
It was at times so dark that we could not see our hands 
before us. We halted several times to let a passing 
cloud empty itself on us, and the sky clear up some, so 
that we might see how to march. The dogs along the 
road proved to be great friends that night, it being so 
dark that we could not see the houses. When we heard 
a dog bark, someone would go towards him, and thus 
find the house, awake the inmates, and get directions for 
our march. The little branches and creeks running 
across the road had by this time become small rivers, 
and the water of some came ud to our waists as we 
forded. Just before reaching the poor house village, 
the moon came out, and we entered the village about 
midnight; no lights were visible and not a soul was stir- 
ring. We, however, surrounded the largest and best 
looking housC; and knocked at the door. After some 
delay, an old man with a veritable nightcap on, poked 
his head out of an upper window and informed us that 
a squad of Yankee cavalry had been there that after- 
noon, and left about sunset. We then marched to the 
church which was open, went in, and, after posting a 
sentinel, lay down on the benches in our wet clothes, 



178 ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

thoroughly broken down, and slept the rest of the night. 
On our return next morning, one of the streams wc 
crossed the night before had risen so high that we could 
not cross; while we were waiting, an old gentleman in 
the neighborhood gave us a breakfast which was so 
good that it paid us for our trip. This march, during 
the night, was as trying an experience as I had during 
the war. We reached camp about ten in the morning, 
having marched about twenty-four miles. 

Soon after we returned to IMontpelier a detail of 
men was made to make soaj). 11icse men gathered the 
ashes from our fires, put them into several barrels, and 
commenced making lye ; they also gathered the offal 
from the slaughter pens, and with the use of several old- 
fashioned dinner pots, in which the soap was made, they 
soon had some excellent and pure soap. This was issued 
at once, and the men of our brigade soon presented a 
very clean appearance. All the work of these men was 
done out of doors. They were so successful in their 
work, that we carried a large quantity with us when we 
left camp. 

This was a very busy week : first, our regiment, the 
2 1 St Va. Inft., was presented with a battle flag; the next 
day, we had a brigade inspection ; the next day, a bri- 
gade review ; and the next day, a division review. 

Quite a charming story is connected with this flag. 
At the battle of Chanccllorsville our color bearer was 
shot (l(jwn ; one of the color guard caught the flag, and 
waving it aloft, was in a few minutes shot, taken off the 
field, and his left arm amputated alx)ve the elbow. 
When he recovered, he reported at this camp for duty, 
saying he could carry tlie flag with one arm as well as 
before. Gen. Johnson, our division commander, hearing 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 179 

this, determined to present the flag in person to our one- 
armed color bearer. It was received at division head- 
quarters, and Friday, the 20th of August, was the day 
announced for the presentation. On that day the Sec- 
ond Brigade was drawn up in line, and in the presence 
of many spectators, including a number of ladies, Gen. 
Johnson, in patriotic and thrilling words, presented to 
our regiment its first battle flag. The occasion was very 
im.pressive and enthusiastic. Our flag had the following 
battles inscribed on it : Kernstown, McDowell, Win- 
chester, Second Manassas, Harper's Ferry, Sharpsburg, 
Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg. 
Through an oversight these were omitted, viz. : Cold 
Harbor, Malvern Flill, and Cedar Run^-^This flag was 
carried with distinction in all our battles to the end. 

On September 3d we received orders to clean our arms 
and accouterments and cook one day's rations, and be 
ready to march early the next morning, when a grand 
review of the Second Corps would take place. This 
created a great stir in our regiment, since we had never 
been to a review on such a grand scale, and all wanted 
to participate in it. We were up betimes on the morn- 
ing of the 4th, and soon had our breakfast, and were 
ordered to fall in. We marched through Orange C. H. 
to a large field about one mile east of that village, reach- 
ing it about 10 A. M. Our division formed a line facing 
east, about midway of this field, stacked arms, and 
rested. We were soon joined by Early's and Rode's 
divisions, the former taking position about two hundred 
yards in our front, and the latter about the same dis- 
tance in our rear, making three lines each about half a 
mile long. 

About a quarter of a mile in our front was the re- 



i8o ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

viewing^ stand, where the corps headquarters' tla^ was 
waving. As the ot"hcers, who were to witness the review, 
and the visitors arrived, they took their positions near 
that flag. Many laches were present on horseback and 
carriages, among whom were two of Gen. Lee's daugh- 
ters, who received much attention from every one. The 
scene was very gay and brilliant around the flag. 

We were to be reviewed by Gen. Lee in person ; and 
about noon he made his appearance mounted on Trav- 
eler, and joined the throng around the tlag, where he 
seemed to enjoy himself highly with the visitors. Soon 
the bugle sounded, and announced that all was ready. 
Gen. Lee rode to the front, accompanied by his staff, 
then Gen. Ewell and staff, followed by the generals of 
the several divisions and their staffs, in their respective 
order of rank. Gen. Lee rode to the right of the front 
division, which had taken its place, and, with bands 
playing and drums beating, the general dashed along the 
front of the line, followed by the large cavalcade of 
generals and their staffs. The men presented arms, flags 
were lowered, the officers saluted with their swords, 
and all the pomp of war that could be shown by these 
old Confederates was brought into view. Reaching the 
left of the line, the generals wheeled to the left and 
passed ill rear of the same line, until they reached its 
end ; when they wheeled to the right, going to the second 
line, reviewing them in same manner as the first; and 
then to the third line; and back to the Hag. and took 
their respective positions near it. The three lines now 
marched forward several hundred yards, with bands 
playing, then left-wheeled into column of regiments, the 
regiment at the head guiding us to a line with the flag, 
where the corps marched past the stand in column of 



i 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY i8i 

regiments. As each regiment arrived in front of Gen. 
Lee, the men came to a shoulder arms, the flags dipped, 
the officers saluted, the bands played; Gen. Lee raised 
his hat in recognition, the ladies waved their handker- 
chiefs and clapped their hands and cheered us, we an- 
swering with a Confederate yell. The regiments,, after 
passing the reviewing stand some distance, filed to the 
right, and again forming line, waited until the review 
was ended. We then took up our march for camp, 
which we reached about nine or ten o'clock at night. 

This was said to be the grandest review of our troops 
during the war, the movements of the men were ex- 
cellent and our marching splendid. Johnson's (Jackson's 
old division) attracted special attention, and the one- 
armed color bearer of the 2ist Va. Regt. was loudly 
cheered by all the officers and visitors as he passed the 
reviewing stand. 

It was at Montpelier that the great religious revival 
commenced, which spread so rapidly over the entire 
army; and the converts were so numerous that they 
were numbered not by tens and hundreds, but by 
thousands. The place selected for preaching in our 
camp was on a hillside, in a large wood, the road 
running on one side of the place, and a small branch on 
the other. The ground was slightly inclined ; trees were 
cut from the adjoining woods, rolled to this spot, and 
arranged for seating at least two thousand people. At 
the lower end, a platform was raised with logs, rough 
boards were placed on them, and a bench was made at 
the far side for the seating of the preachers. In front 
was a pulpit or desk, made of a box. Around this plat- 
form and around the seats, stakes or poles were driven 
in the ground about ten or fifteen feet apart, on top of 



i82 ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

which were baskets made of iron wire, iron hoops, etc. 
In tliese baskets chunks of hghtwood were placed, and 
at night they were hghted, throwing a red glare far 
beyond the confines of the place of worship. The gath- 
ering, each night, of the bronzed and grizzly warriors, 
devoutly worshiping, was a wonderful picture in the 
army; and when some old familiar hymn was given out, 
those thousands of warriors would make hill and dell 
ring. In this rude place of worship thousands gathered 
several weeks. The interest manifested was so great 
that the seats were taken in the afternoon by such men 
as were not on duty ; and when night relieved from duty 
those who had been drilling, etc., the men stood up in 
immense numbers around those who were seated. I 
think I can say that the order was perfect, no disturl> 
ance of any kind was ever known to occur, and the 
attention to the words of the preacher was never more 
faithful. 

We enjoyed in this camp the longest rest of the war; 
and it was much needed. After the review we were 
disturbed only by regular drills ami the usual camp 
duties. The men enjoyed this rest more than any we 
ever had. The camp was located in one of the healthiest 
sites to be found. In full view of the Blue Ridge and 
Monticello, it was a beautiful place and it was, too. a 
magnificent farm. 

Our rest ended on Septcml>er i6th, when wc com- 
menced a series ni marches and movements, which cul- 
minated in Gen. Lee's crossing the Rapidan river, and 
ofYering battle to the enemy. They, however, preferred 
to retire; and we followed as far as Bristow Station, 
where their rear guard was overtaken and promptly at- 
tacked by a part of A. P. Hill's division, which sufTercd 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 183 

some loss. When our division arrived on the field, the 
Second Brigade was formed in line of battle near the 
railroad, and perpendicular to it, and skirmishers thrown 
forward, and we were ordered forward about half a 
mile through a thin pine thicket. The men were cau- 
tioned to keep perfectly quiet, as the enemy were sup- 
posed to be in this thicket. We halted, and were ordered 
to lie down in place, with guns in hand. Everything so 
far had been done very quietly; but when an old hare 
came running to our line, the boys could not restrain 
themselves — some sprang to their feet, catching at the 
hare as it went by the line of battle. It was captured 
by one of the men who was lying down. A wild yell 
burst from the men, and the silence for that day was 
broken. Our skirmishers pushed on to Broad Run, and 
it was soon reported that Meade had taken refuge in the 
fortifications around Centreville. We quietly took up 
our march and returned to camp. The Second Corps 
followed the Orange & Alexander R. R., destroying the 
track from the bridge over Broad Run to the Rappa- 
hannock river, and, crossing that river, Johnson's division 
went into camp about three miles from it, a part of the 
corps staying at the river. We remained in this camp 
until the night of November 7th, when we marched to 
Kelly's Ford, to meet the enemy, who, it was reported, 
Lad crossed there. Near the ford, about two or three 
o'clock in the night, we halted and sent scouts ahead, 
who learned that a large body of the enemy had crossed, 
staying only a short time and recrossing about night. 
One of our regiment captured a prisoner, who was the 
only enemy seen by my corps as far as I know. This 
man stayed with the regiment two or three days before 
he was turned over to the provost guard. On the fol- 
lowing morning we marched to Culpeper C. H., going 



i84 ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

aruiind the town Ut the Rapidan river, which we crossed 
at Raccoon r\)rcl about eight or nine o'cl(Jck at night. 
It was tlie coldest water I ever forded. Oh, how cold! 
I can feel it now. As the water at this time was about 
knee deep, we were ordered to take off our shoes and 
roll up our breeches: and, as we stepped into the water, 
it was so cold it felt as if a knife had taken one's foot 
off; and at each step the depth of the water increased. 
This feeling continued until we reached the middle of 
the river, where the water came to the knee, and one 
felt as if the leg was off from the knee down. Reach- 
ing the shore and halting to put on shoes and let pants 
down, many of the men were so cold they could not 
do it. This was true of myself: I had put on one shoe, 
but could not tie it, nor could I roll my pants dcnvn. 
In this way we marched about a mile, when we halted 
in a large wood, where we soon built immense fires and 
became warm. The next morning we marched and went 
into camp at Mt. Pisgah Churcli in Orange County. 
Thence our division went on picket at Morton's Ford 
on the Rajipahannock. a distance of eight miles: a bri- 
gade going to the ford, staying three days, and relieved 
by another brigade, returning to camp at Mt. Pisgah. 

During the winter of 1863-4 the subject of taking care 
of the widows and orphans of the soldiers who were 
killed, was agitated by some of the prominent citizens 
of the Confederacy: an organization was formed f(^r 
that purpose, committees were apix)inte(l to make col- 
lections, etc., and agents of the society were sent to the 
armies in the field, to ask assistance from the soldiers. 
One of these agents visited (»ur company while wc were 
in this camj). He was received most cordially, as the 
cause was one that appealed to the symi)athy of every 
soldier. When the company was assembled, the f(_)llow- 



I 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 185 

ing sums were subscribed by its members, to be paid at 
the next pay day, or as soon thereafter as the collector 
could visit us : 

Lt. R. J. Jordan $20.00 

Sergt. J. H. Worsham 10.00 

Sergt. W. S. Robertson 10.00 

Sergt. E. Gouldman 2.00 

Corporal H. F. Munt 5-00 

Corporal N. A. Dowdy 2.00 

Corporal H. C. Tyree 5.00 

Privates : N. Barber 2.50 

A. D. Brown 2.00 

G. W. Brown 2.50 

J. R. Brown 2.50 

J. M. Couch 2.00 

W. E. Cumbia 5-00 

W. S. Cumbia i.oo 

W. B. Edmonds 5.00 

H. C. Fox 5.00 

J. Griffin 2.00 

J. W. Johnston 2.00 

P. W. Kayton 5.00 

A. C. Legg 2.00 

J. M. Mason 2.00 

J. T. Merriman 2.00 

H. Peaster 5.00 

P. S. Richeson 2.00 

W. R. Richeson 2.00 

S. Searles 5.00 

W. C. Seay 2.00 

J. T. Smith 5.00 

S. E. Wood 5.00 

J. A. Kidd 5.00 

$127.50 



i86 ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

This was a liberal contribution from men whose pay 
was eleven dollars a month, the majority of whom had 
families who needed all their income. It is a pleasure 
to me to add that when the collector came, every one 
present paid his subscription ; and some who were absent 
left the amount with me, which was duly handed over. 
Every man present at the first visit subscribed, and a 
few who were not present then but were present when 
the collector came, gave him what they could spare ; they 
are included in the list. 

Gen. Bradley T. Johnson was commanding our bri- 
gade again and his wife visited him here. The first day 
of her arrival she visited the camp of the brigade, and 
went to each company asking after the health of the 
men, and how we were getting along, etc. This she con- 
tinued to do daily as long as we were in this camp. 
She was a beautiful woman with charming manners and 
always had a pleasant word and good cheer for the sick. 
The personal interest she took in us. so impressed the 
men that they looked forward to her daily visits with 
great pleasure. The good she did in this camp was 
never forgotten. 



XXI 

paynf/s farm and mine run 

On November 27th it was reported that Meade had 
crossed the Rappahannock and was advancing. We 
broke camp, and Johnson's division marched towards 
Mine Run on a road north of that taken by the remainder 
of the Second Corps. We were quietly marching along 
a road which runs through a wood, listening to the dis- 
tant cannon in our front and speculating as to the loca- 
tion of the expected battle. Suddenly a part of our 
column was assailed on the flank by a Yankee skirmish 
line. It was a complete surprise to us, since no one 
thought the enemy was in the vicinity. Regimental of- 
ficers cut off companies from their regiments, formed 
them as skirmishers right in the road, and ordered them 
forward. I must say this was the promptest movement 
I saw during the war. Our skirmishers drove the enemy 
back on their line of battle, and by this time Gen. John- 
son had formed the division in line of battle, and it was 
moving forward. The left of our line became heavily 
engaged at once. The Second Brigade was on the right, 
and swung around until we came to a field, where we 
could see the enemy behind a rail fence on the edge of 
a wood at the far side of this field. Continuing our 
wheeling, we soon came to a swamp in a bottom, the 
most miry place I ever entered. How the men crossed 
it I don't know. Many left one or both shoes in the 
mud, the horses could not cross, the officers were com- 
pelled to dismount and take the mud too. We, howevet 

187 



i88 Ox\E OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

crossed, halted a few moments under the hill, reformed 
our line, and went forward. As soon as we advanced 
up the hill sufficiently for the enemy to see us, the action 
hecame general and heavy ; we fought until night put 
an end to the battle. 

I will mention a gallant action which I saw here. 
Capt. J(jhnson of the 50th Va. Regt.. a man about fifty 
years of age, large and stout, thinking that some of his 
men were not doing as well as they ought, walked out 
to the brow of the hill, lay down on its top, broadside 
to the enemy, and then called to some of his men to 
come up; and if they were afraid, they could use him 
as a breastwork. Several of them very promptly ac- 
cepted his challenge, lying down behind him, resting their 
guns on him, firing steadily from this position until the 
fight was over. I am happy to say that the gallant 
captain was not injured. The division suffered greatly; 
of F Company, L. M. Couch, J. A. Kidd, Henry Peaster 
and Porter \\'ren were wounded. 

This action was known as the battle of Payne's Farm : 
it was fought by Johnson's division alone, against one of 
the wings of the Army of the T^)t(^mac that had crossed 
the river at a small ford to make the Hank attack on 
Lee's army, and, but for the promptness with which the 
attack was met, it might have been very disastrous to 
his army. During the night we withdrew across Mine 
Run. 

On the next morning we joined Lee, and took our 
position in line of battle with our corps, along the hills 
of Mine Run, and threw up breastworks. Meade occu- 
pied the hills in our front. Skirmishers had l>een thrown 
(jut in our front all along the run. we hoard the C(»n- 
tinuous crack (jf their guns, occasionally a brisk can- 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 189 

nonade would be indulged in; and thus matters went on 
all day. At night all became still, and we lay down in 
the breastworks to rest. When we arose the next morn- 
ing we saw that the hills in our front had a line of 
fortifications from one end to the other of the enemy's 
line, and more formidable than our own. The skir- 
mishing was as heavy as on the day before, and at one 
time we endured heavy cannonading from the enemy. 
Night put an end to the firing. In the morning we saw 
that Meade had strengthened his works and brought up 
additional cannon. I went back of our fortifications a 
few yards, built a small fire of twigs, put my cup on it 
to warm something for breakfast, and quietly took a 
seat on the ground near by to wait until it was heated. 
Two of the regiment joined me and put their cups beside 
mine, the enemy's shells from a battery on our right 
occasionally dropping in our vicinity. Soon after my 
friends put their cups on the fire, a shell dropped in it, 
burst, wounding one of them on the head, and when 
the smoke and ashes cleared up, our cups and fire too 
had disappeared. I sadly went back and took my place 
in line, without breakfast. Once during this day the 
cannonading from the enemy was the most severe we 
had from them. Anticipating an attack, a sergeant from 
F Company and two men were detailed from the 21st 
Va. Regt., ordered to go back to our rear, find the am- 
munition wagon, get two boxes of ammunition, bring 
them to the line of battle, keep them within one hundred 
yards of the regiment, and, if attacked, issue them to 
the men as fast as they might need them. 

At night A. P. Hill's corps, which occupied the right 
of Lee's line, moved out of the breastworks and took 
a position on the flank and rear of Meade, in order to 



I90 ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

attack him at (layl)reak. Our corps remained in the 
breastworks, and extended its hne so as to occupy the 
whole fortification, and in my regiment the men were 
not much closer together than in a skirmish line. Orders 
were given the men in case of an attack to hold the line 
at all hazards. 

About midnight the men lay down in their places for 
some rest, and were aroused at break of day, sprang 
to their feet promptly, and listened for the expected 
attack ])y Hill. Not a gun was heard, so we became 
very anxious because we had no tidings from him. 
Soon after sunrise, Johnson's division formed in column 
and marched along the breastworks until we reached a 
country road, where we filed to the left, and marched 
over the run into the Yankee fortifications. Everything 
was perfectly still, not a Yankee to be seen, they having 
left during the night. W'e followed till wc knew they 
had crossed the Kapidan. 

Johnson's division then marched to Morton's Ford, 
and, on the next day, to Raccoon Ford, where we re- 
mained until December 19th. when we marched to the 
neighborh()(Kl of Orange C. 11., and then back to our 
old camp near Mt. Pisgah Church on December 24th. 
The next day we had a regular old-time Christmas, since 
a good many boxes had been received from home, in 
some of which were the ingredients for egg-nog. 

The men suffered a great deal at Mine Run from the 
cold winds. We were on a high hill, and were kept in 
the breastworks all the time, and not alhjwed to make 
fires. 



XXII 

WINTER 1863-4 CAMP NEAR MT. PISGAH CHURCH 

Before leaving our camp near Mt. Pisgah Church to 
march to Mine Run, some of the men had built huts. 
When we returned to camp huts were built for all, and 
soon we were comfortable. The Second Brigade also 
built of logs a commodious church. There we gathered 
every Sunday for regular religious services, sometimes 
having a preacher to expound the gospel, and at other 
times a soldier would lead the meetings, which were 
largely attended and much enjoyed by the men. 

The whole division was ordered out one afternoon to 
witness the execution of three Confederate soldiers from 
another division, who were to die by being shot for some 
violation of the laws of the army. The division was 
formed on three sides of a hollow square, the fourth side 
being open. Three stakes were fixed in the ground 
about the center of this open side, and soon after our 
formation an officer and a guard with the prisoners ap- 
peared. The prisoners were made to kneel with their 
backs to the stakes, to which they were securely tied and 
a cloth was fastened over their eyes. Twelve men were 
ordered to take up the twelve guns lying on the ground 
in front of the prisoners. The guns had already been 
loaded, it is said six with and six without balls, so that 
no man would know that he killed one of the prisoners. 
The twelve men took their places about thirty feet in 
front of each man, the order to fire was given, and, at 

the report of the guns, two men were killed, the balls 

191 



192 ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

goin^ through each; the third man, while shot, was not 
killed. One of the detail was ordered to place another 
gun against the man's breast and fire; this killed him in- 
stantly. This was the only execution I witnessed, and, 
if I live a thousand years, I will never l)c willing to see 
another. 

We remained in this camp a lung time, drilling, etc., 
during good weather, and going regularly on picket to 
Morton's Ford. On February 5th the whole corps was 
called to the ford, the indications being that the enemy 
were moving and were marching a column to the ford 
with the intention of crossing. They (Hd not make their 
a])pearance on the other side of the river, but sent skir- 
mishers to the ford, who became engaged with ours, and 
some of their artillery was in action and shelled our 
lines. We remained at the ford until the 8th, and then 
returned to camp, leaving a brigade as usual on picket. 
The enemy had disapi)eare(l and gone back to their 
camps before we moved. This was known in the 
Yankee army as the " Mud Campaign," and they said 
that if their artillery and wagons had not stuck in the 
mud they would have made things lively for us. 

On March ist the enemy made a movement in our 
fnMit and sent a body of cavalry on a raid in our rear. 
About sunset of the 2nd the long roll was sounded in 
the camp of Johnson's division, we were ordered to fall 
in, and, as soon as we did so, we were ordered to march 
to the stone road. There the dixision was formed, and 
we marched at a quick step in the direction of Fred- 
crick.sburg. Arriving at Mine Kim. we camj^ed for the 
remainder of the night. The roads were full of mud 
and the marching was bad ; at one place we forded a 
branch and the road ascended a steep clay hill, the wet 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 193 

shoes of the soldier after coming out of the branch and 
treading on the clay had made it perfectly slick, and 
many a fall was the consequence. We had a boy recruit 
just from his home and this was his first march. He 
wore wooden bottom shoes, and, poor fellow, he slipped 
back into the branch, getting out a step or two, so often 
that some of his comrades finally undertook to help him. 
Frequently they went with him two or three yards from 
the branch, when he would commence to slip, pulling 
them all back together into the water. He was finally 
told to sit down on the road side until daybreak, when 
he would be able to see his way, and could then join us. 
This he did; but some of the boys, to have a little fun, 
told him that the Yankee cavalry were marching behind 
us, and as soon as we got a little way from him, they 
would come along and take him prisoner. Poor little 
fellow, he commenced to cry as if his heart would 
break. This little fellow, however, made his mark at 
the Wilderness battle a few weeks later. I saw him 
blow a hole through a Yankee, who was at the muzzle 
of his gun, during the attack they made on us. 

Early the next morning we continued the march, halted 
at the crossing of the Germania Road, formed a line of 
battle across the road, stacked arms, and were told that 
we might rest; but must remain near our guns. It was 
rumored that the Yankee cavalry raiders were expected 
to return this way to their army, and we were there to 
intercept them. We remained several hours, marched 
to Chancellorsville, and, forming a line across a road 
leading to one of the fords, stayed there several hours; 
we marched back to the Germania Road, where we re- 
mained all night. The next morning we again marched 
to Chancellorsville, remaining there all day and night. 



104 OXE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

We were called out of camp very suddenly on the after- 
noon of the 2nd on this expedition, and we did not carry 
any rations with us. (Some of the men were left be- 
hind in camp to cook them and then bring them to us.) 
We had eaten up everything in camp during the day, 
and were drawing rations for supper when we were 
ordered off on the march, and we left without it. The 
men with the cooked rations joined us at Chancellors- 
ville on the morning of the 4th, and during all this time 
very few of us had anything to eat. I had nothing, and 
it was the longest time I went without eating during the 
war. As soon as we finished eating what the men 
brought, we took our places in line, and the next morn- 
ing returned to Mt. Pisgah ; the raiders having returned 
to their army by another route. We saw at Chancellors- 
ville that a year's time had not healed the scars of the 
bloody battle fought there, the ground where we were 
being literally covered with human bones that had been 
scattered about since the shallow burial of those who 
fell there. It was an awful experience, even for sol- 
diers, to lie down for rest at night, after scraping the 
bones away. 

The night of the 5th found us back in our old quar- 
ters, and we were glad, very glad, to return to them, 
and were soon comfortable. 

For a long time short rations were issued to us, and 
it being hard to divide them equally among the mem- 
bers of the messes, the majority of the messes adopted 
a system that gave general satisfaction. After the ra- 
tions were cooked, they were divided into as many parts 
as there were members of the mess. Each of these 
parts was piled on a log or on the ground in a row, 
and one member of the mess was selected to turn his 



OXE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 195 

back to the piles of rations, while another member 
pointed his finger towards one of the piles and asked, 
" Who has this? '' The man with his back towards the 
piles designated one of the mess by name, who immedi- 
ately took it ; and then another pile was disposed of in 
a similar way, until all the piles were taken. Coffee 
was not included in this method of distribution, because 
it was given us in the grain and in quantity so small 
that the grains were counted out to each man. Xone 
but the Confederate soldier knows how they lived. For 
months we had not had a full ration, and the rations 
became more scanty as the war continued, and after this 
time we never received as much as we wanted to eat, 
unless we captured it from the enemy. 

The regular rations allowed by army regulations were 
not suffiicient, but we did not get the regular allowance 
even at the beginning of the war, when everything was 
plentiful. Here is the allowance of rations for men in 
the field — for each man : 

i lb. bacon or beef — daily. 

1 "2" lbs. flour or corn meal — daily, or i lb. hard bread. 
For one hundred men : 

8 qts. of pease or 10 lbs. of rice. 

4 qts. of vinegar. 

i^ lbs. tallow candles. 

4 lbs. soap. 

2 qts. salt. 

6 lbs. sugar. 

\\'hile we were in this camp we received some of the 
Telescope rifles, which were entrusted to a select body 
of men. On suitable occasions the men practiced shoot- 
ing with them. At one of those practices they stood on 
one hill and shot at a target about half a mile oflf on 



196 OXE OF JACKSOX'S FOOT CAVALRY 

another hill. The lx)ttom between those hills was used 
as a c^raziiii^ place for horses and mules helone^inc; to 
our wai^on train, and durinj^ the shootinj^^, they acci- 
dentally killed one of the mules. That mule was very 
fat. and not lon^ after it was killed some of the men 
cut chunks of meat from him and carried them into 
camp to he cooked and eaten. Some officer learning of 
this, had a ijuard stationed durinj^^ the day near the mule 
to prevent it. 1liat night many had mule steak for sup- 
per. \Ve are now in a bad plight for cooking utensils ; 
spiders are scarce, also frying pans ; hardly a boiler and 
all the ])ans to make the bread in are gone; we make the 
bread in the spiders and frying pans, oilcloths, atid dur- 
ing the time of year that the bark of the trees would 
slip we get an excellent tray by peeling the bark from 
a tree. 

We enjoyed this camp, as the quarters were the most 
comfortable we had during the war. The men really 
enjoyed the rest and the longest ever spent. There was 
more sociability here than I ever saw in camp. I en- 
joyed visiting Clark's Mountain, a mound rising several 
hundred feet above the surrounding country, and im- 
mediately on the Kapidan River. hVom its top, which 
was about three miles from our camp. I could see the 
camps of many of the enemy in Culjjcper County; also 
I had an extensive view of the surrounding country. 
We had a signal station on its top. and sometimes I had 
an opj)ortunity to look through the glass at the Yankee 
camps. 

One of the incidents I witnessed while in this camp 
was changing the clothing of one of our men confined 
i*ii the guard house, who was handcuffed. He desired 
to put on a clean shirt, and as he was not allowed to 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 197 

take off the cuffs, he went to work, took off his soiled 
shirt, and then put on the clean one, the handcuffs not 
being removed. It, however, took him about two hours 
to do it. 

The negroes who accompanied their masters during 
the war were a source of much merriment as well as 
comfort to us. I recollect the experience of two of our 
negro cooks in battle. On one occasion we were in 
line of battle when Archer, a cook in one of our com- 
panies, came to the front with his master's haversack 
of rations. We were taking things easy at the time, 
some lying on the ground, others sitting or standing up 
engaged in talking over the impending battle, and at the 
sight of Archer we gave him a hurrah as a welcome. 
He had been with us only a few minutes, when the en- 
emy made an advance along our front and turned our 
flank. Fighting became warm, and we had a hot time 
before we succeeded in driving them back; but follow- 
ing up our success, we drove the enemy from the field 
of battle. Archer was caught in the fight, and when 
night came and we were joined by the cooks, he had a 
splendid account to tell his companions of the part he 
took in the battle. Fie told them he took the gun of 
one of our dead, and fought side by side with '' Marse 
Jim," and he *' knows I killed a dozen Yankees. Oh, you 
ought just to have see me in the charge ! Me and ' Marse 
Jim' just whipped them clean out!" This account of 
Archer's made a hero of him in the estimation of his 
friends, and so impressed them that one of their num- 
ber, Ned, made up his mind then and there to go into 
the next battle, and see if he could eclipse Archer's ac- 
count! Ned did not have long to wait, as we met our 
old enemy again some weeks later, when a line of battle 
was formed in a wood. Ned was in it, with gun in 



198 ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

liand. He had a large knapsack strapped to his back, 
filled to overflowing with articles from many a battle- 
field, which he had been carrying for a month or more, 
with the hope of sending it to his wife by some soldier 
who was going to his neighborhood. Besides the knap- 
sack he had one or more haversacks filled in same man- 
ner, and his canteen ! 

When we received orders to move forward, Xed 
marched boldly in our midst, and when we reached the 
edge of the woods the enemy opened on us, — a 
spent ball hitting Ned squarely in the forehead, raising 
a knot as large as a hen's egg in a few minutes! As 
soon as Ned was struck he was seen to halt, his mouth 
flew open, his eyes bulged, and he made a movement as 
if he was going to run, but the men steadied him by tell- 
ing him that Archer was knocked down several times by 
balls, and he got u\) and killed the man who had shot him! 
In our advance we crossed a fence and started across 
a field. A man at Ned's side was shot down. Ned 
started and stopped at the sight, his gun fell from his 
hand, a ball went over his shoulder, cut the strap on 
his knapsack, and, as it turned, Ned slipped out of it, 
letting it fall to the ground; at the same time disengag- 
ing his haversack and canteen, pulled off his coat, dropped 
it, too, brushed off his hat, wheeled and broke for the 
rear like a quarter horse, amidst the yells of our men! 
This was a sore subject ever after for Ned. Not that he 
ran away, — but losing all those things he had been sav- 
ing to send to Sally! And he w(nild not believe a word 
of Archer's talc! 

Here is another tale of the negro, showing the feeling 
the southerner had for him. My mess, of about half a 
dozen, had built for winter fpiarters a log pen about two 
feet high; on this they erected their tent, and at one 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 199 

end we had an excellent log chimney. This made us 
very comfortable. We had a negro slave as cook, who 
stayed about our tent during the day, but slept in a cabin 
with other negroes. He was taken sick with measles; 
we made him leave his quarters and come and stay in 
our tent, where we cooked for him and nursed him until 
he was well. 

I tried to keep clean while in the army, and made it a 
rule to take a bath once a week and oftener when con- 
venient; this included winter as well as summer. It 
looked very formidable to take a bath on some of those 
cold and stormy days which we had in the army, but it 
was more in looks than in the reality. Here is a winter's 
day experience in this camp. One day about noon the 
sun shining brightly and little wind stirring, I thought 
I would take my bath. I walked over to Madison Run, 
a large stream about half a mile from camp. I found 
the stream frozen over solid. I got a large rock, walked 
to the middle of the stream, raised the rock over my 
head, and hurled it with all my force on the ice, but it 
made no impression. I repeated this eight or ten times 
without breaking the ice. I then returned to camp, got 
an ax, went back to the run, cut a large hole in the 
ice, which was about seven inches thick, cleared the hole 
of all floating ice, undressed, took a good bath, dressed, 
and when I returned to camp was in fine condition. 

It had been rumored in camp for several weeks that 
Gen. Grant had command of the army of the Potomac, 
our old enemy, and from indications in his camp it was 
supposed he intended to make a move soon. In antici- 
pation of this, Johnson's division broke up winter quar- 
ters on May 2, and marched to Bartley's Mill on the 
Rapidan for better observation, and to be in better place 
to guard our line. 



XXIII 



THE WILDERNESS 



On the morning of May 4tli, 1864, Johnson's divi- 
sion left Bartlcy's Mill and marched to Locust Grove 
and proceeded along the Stone road towards Fred- 
ericksburg nearly all night, then halted, and rested 
on the side of the road. Gen. Ewell, who had been 
riding at the head of the column, lay d(nvn beside a log 
not more than ten yards from me. 

As the streaks of day were just beginning to show 
themselves, we were ordered to fall in, and resumed our 
march. We had gone only a short distance when the 
stillness in our front was broken by the sound of a drum, 
and the sweet notes of music from a band. Every man 
clutched his gun more tightly, as the direction of the 
music told him that the enemy were in front. There 
was no need of urging us to hurry, no need to incjuire 
what it meant. All knew now that Grant had crossed 
the Rai)idan, and soon the tumult of battle would be- 
gin. The march cr>ntinued, the command was '* Close 
up," .soon the order, "Halt! Load your guns!" then 
** Shoulder arms! March! " Soon a line of battle was 
formed by the Second P)rigade which was in front, the 
2 1. St Va. Regt. on the left of the Stone road, the re- 
mainder of the brigade on the right of that road. The 
order "Forward!" was given, — we uKJved forward 
through wood and brush! W'c witc in the wilderness! 
with a tumult that seemed to come from the infernal 
regions, we were assailed by the enemy! As so(^n as the 
lifting of the smoke enabled us to see, we discovered 

200 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 201 

that the portion of our brigade which was on the right 
of the road had been swept away; there were no Con- 
federates in sight except our regiment. We broke the 
enemy's Hne in our front, and made no halt in our ad- 
vance, — on we w^nt, shooting as fast as we could load ! 
Suddenly I was confronted by a gun, resting on a big 
stump, and behind the stump we saw a Yank ! We hal- 
looed to him to throw his gun down, several of us took 
aim at him ; he started to rise, but before he could do 
so, a little boy on my left who had also taken aim at him, 
pulled the trigger, and at the crack of his gun the Yan- 
kee fell dead ! This w^as the little fellow who was w^ear- 
ing wooden bottom shoes, whom we left on the road 
one night a few wrecks before crying, because he could not 
keep up with us on the march. We captured many 
prisoners ; behind every tree and stump were several who 
seemed to remain there in preference to running the 
gauntlet of our fire. We advanced to a dense pine 
thicket and halted, every man falling flat on the ground 
at once for protection ! We could see troops coming to 
our assistance, and the line on our left was extended 
by the Third Brigade, one of its regiments halting di- 
rectly in our rear, where they lay down, too ! On our 
right the w^oods were large and open, and for some reason 
the enemy had disappeared from it. An explanation 
of this was given in the report of Maj. Meret C. Walsh, 
'' 7 Indiana Inf., in Vol. 34, page 617, War Records." 
He says, " We charged the rebel line, capturing the colors 
of the 50th Va. Regt., and nearly two hundred prisoners, 
but being flanked on the right, were forced to retire 
from the field, and return to the breastworks." 

The force on the right was the 21st Va. Regt! It 
will be seen that we not only drove those in front, but 
cleared the enemy from the field on the right of the road. 



202 ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

The pine thicket in our front was so dense that we 
could not see into it twenty feet, but wc heard the enemy 
talking. My company was near the road and I, wish- 
ing to see what was going on in front, ran across the 
road to the top of the elevation, and to the front. What 
a sight met my gaze! Oblicjucly across the road and 
just behind the pine thicket, the enemy was massed in 
a small field. I looked down the road and saw two 
pieces of artillery coming up in a run. and at this time 
I perceived that I in turn was seen, and guns were lev- 
eled at me! I took shelter behind a big tree, just as 
Cumbia of our company came running to me! They 
fired a hundred shots, and Cumbia fell shot through the 
body! He was as gallant a soldier as any in our army. 

I ran back to my company, and seeing the colonel of 
the regiment of the Third Brigade who was with us, I 
informed him of the position of affairs in front. He 
gave the order at once, " Forward, men! " — the two reg- 
iments jumped to their feet and advanced, the whole of 
the Third Brigade taking part. Through the thicket 
we went, coming upon the mass of the enemy, the bat- 
tle raging again more fiercely than before! With a yell 
we were on them, front and Hank! They gave ground 
and then ran! Such a yell then went up as fairly shook 
the ground! Hurrah! the cannon are ours, we capturing 
both pieces. The enemy in their llight had crossed to 
the right of the road, and we followed through the field 
about two hundred yards into the woods; here we halted 
and were ordered back. In retiring through the fieUl, 
we discovered a Ixxly of the enemy in the woods on our 
left; the 2ist Va. Regt. immediately wheeled and poured 
a hot fire into them! They (lisap])eared in great dis- 
order, we resuming our march across the lleKl, and 
halting as soon as we reached the wuod on the east side. 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 203 

The 2 1 St Va. Regt. taking position there and on the right 
of the Stone road, commenced to fire slowly at the enemy, 
who had taken position on the west side of this field. 
Here we w^ere joined by the remainder of the Second 
Brigade. 

We were then treated to a rare sight! Running mid- 
way across the little field was a gully that had been 
washed by the rains. In their retreat, many of the en- 
emy went into this gully for a protection from our fire, 
and when we advanced to it, we ordered them out and to 
the rear ; all came out except one, who had hidden under 
an overhanging bank, and was overlooked. When we 
fell back across the field the Yankees, who followed us 
to the edge of the woods, shot at us as we crossed. One 
of our men, thinking the fire too warm, dropped into the 
gully for protection. It will be noticed that there were 
then a Yankee and a Confederate in the gully, and each 
was ignorant of the presence of the other! After a 
while they commenced to move about in the gully, there 
being no danger as long as they did not show themselves. 
Soon they came in view of each other, and commenced to 
banter one another. Then they decided that they would 
go into the road and have a regular fist and skull fight, 
the best man to have the other as his prisoner. When 
the two men came into the road about midway between 
the lines of battle, in full view of both sides around the 
field, one a Yankee, the other " a Johnny," while both 
sides were firing, they surely created a commotion ! This 
was true in our line and I suppose in the enemy's line, 
because both sides ceased firing! When the two men 
took ofT their coats and commenced to fight with their 
fists, a yell went up along each line, and men rushed to 
the edge of the opening for a better view! The 
" Johnny " soon had the " Yank " down, who surren- 



204 ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

dered, and both quietly rolled into the gully, where they 
remained until night, when '' the Johnny " brought " the 
Yank " into our line. The disappearance of the two 
men was the signal for the resumption of firing! Such 
is war! 
"^ We remained in this position two or three hours, and 
marched across the road and took position immediately 
on its left, and about two hundred yards in the rear of 
the line of breastworks that was occupied by the Third 
Brigade. Slight firing continued all day, and as night 
approached everything became quiet. W'e were ordered 
to rest for the night on our arms. 

I was aroused about midnight to take a verbal order 
to the officer in our front on the skirmish line, which was 
on the outskirts of the pine thicket. I was instructed 
to leave my arms, etc., take my time, and make as little 
noise as possible. The night was dark and the pine 
thicket so dark that 1 could almost feel the darkness. 
Moving carefully, and thinking that I was getting on 
splendidly in perfect silence, I was thrown down with 
such a rattling noise as to awaken everybody in the 
neighborhood ! Shooting commenced from the Yankees 
at once! They fired hundreds of shots in the thicket, 
and I lay perfectly still until quiet was restored. When 
I sat up ancl felt around to see what caused me to fall, 
my hand came into contact with a saber which I found 
belted to a dead man ; this saber caught between my legs, 
threw me; it rattling against the man's canteen, as well as 
my falling amongst the pine twigs, was the big noise in 
the night. I'ully reassured I proceeded, found the oftlcer, 
and delivered the order. He was an old friend and in- 
(piired what I made so much noise for! My explanation. 
a laugh, a caution to nu- not to repeat it. a good-night 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 205 

were given, and I started to our line, shaping my course 
as well as I could, so as to find my dead man again. 
Fortune favored me. I found him, took his sword, and 
then felt in his pockets for what he had! I found a 
knife, a pipe and a piece of string, and in every pocket, 
even to the one in his shirt, he had smoking tobacco! I 
had to take an order to the front again at daybreak, and 
on my return, looked for my man again and saw that he 
was a Yankee lieutenant. Soon after this the enemy 
assailed our position furiously with shot and shell for a 
short time, and then quiet was restored, lasting in our 
front the remainder of the day, with now and then a 
skirmish fire. 

On the morning of the 7th the Second Brigade 
marched by the fiank to the extreme left of Gen. Lee's 
line, and there took a small country road through the 
woods towards one of the fords at w^hich Grant crossed 
the Rapidan. After going some distance we halted, 
formed a line of battle, a few pieces of artillery that ac- 
companied us unlimbered, loaded and were ordered to 
fire through the woods in the direction of the ford. The 
firing was fast for a short time. The artillery then lim- 
bered up, we returned by the same road, and resumed our 
place in line with our division. We did not know what 
this movement was for, until a few days later when we 
learned that it was a feint on Grant's communications. 
It is said that it made a great commotion in his army. 

The giants had met and Grant was badly worsted in 
his first encounter ! His loss was great. All along Lee's 
line he had been repulsed ! In the little field in our front 
the ground was literally covered with his dead! Our 
loss was severe, nearly all of that splendid regiment, the 
25th Va. of our brigade, having been captured. F. Com- 



2o6 ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

pany had amongst the wounded G. W. Brown, L. M. 
Couch, N. A. Dowdy, A. C. Legg and li. Smith, and W. 
D. Cunibia was killed. Among the killed in the division 
were those splendid soldiers, Brigadier General Stafford 
of the Louisiana brigade, and Brig. Gen. J. M. Jones of 
our brigade. Gen. Jones was a strict disciplinarian, and 
inaugurated several plans for the benefit of his men. 
According to my information, he was the only officer 
who made the men take care of themselves as far as they 
could. He allowed no straggling, even the musicians 
had to march in their places, and if he saw the men be- 
coming weary or fagged, he ordered every musician to 
the head of the brigade. One of the regiments had a 
very good band, the others had small drum corps ; all 
together they were a considerable company of musicians. 
The general directed the band to play a short time, and 
then the drum corps would play, — with four or five bass 
drums and ten to twelve kettle drums and twelve to fif- 
teen fifes, they made a big noise, and always received the 
hearty approval of the men! It was noticeable that the 
men began to close up, take step with the music, and 
march several miles in this way, feeling refreshed. 

Always on a march when we reached a stream that 
must be forded, if the water came below the knee, every 
man and officer who was walking was rcrpiired to take 
off his shoes and socks and roll his pants up above his 
knees. If the water was deep enough to reach above 
the knees, all were required to strip; thus when we 
crossed the stream we had dry clothes. This was a great 
comfort to the men, but none of them would do it un- 
less compelled. The men of our brigade sometimes tried 
to evade it. Gen. Jones usually caught them, and woe 
unto the man who was caught, whether officer or private! 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 207 

He received a severe reprimand, and one of his staff 
marched him back across the stream, and saw that he 
stripped and then forded according to orders. 

Well do I remember a laughable occurrence at Front 
Royal. In one of our marches through the town after 
the bridges over the Shenandoah river had been burned, 
the citizens desired to see the soldiers ford the river. 
Our brigade was in the front of the army that day, and 
when we reached the river the hill around the ford was 
covered with citizens, mostly women and children. Gen. 
Jones and staff* had ridden into the water to allow their 
horses to drink; the colonel at the head of the column 
gave the order to halt, he then looked at the hill and then 
at Gen. Jones, and then looked at the men ; the men did 
the same thing. The General looked up, and not seeing 
the men making preparation for fording, he called to the 
colonel to know why the men did not strip and come 
along. The colonel looked again at the hill and the 
men, and then gave the command in a loud voice. " Strip, 
men, and be ready to ford ! " The men hesitated, but 
the general now hallooed to them to strip at once. This 
we commenced to do, and several of the men had their 
pants off before the citizens were aware of what was 
going on. Then over the hill they went, pell mell, 
amidst a general yell from the men! They did not see 
us ford the river that day ! 



XXIV 



SPOTTSYI.VANIA C. H, 



On the morning of May 8th, 1864, the Second Corps, 
the Second Brigade in front, marched from the left 
of Lee's hne to the right of his hne in the Wilderness. 
As we passed along the rear of the army, occasional 
Yankee cannon shot passed over us, and occasionally a 
musket ball. When on reaching the right of Lee's line 
we continued our march in the same direction until 
we came to woods on fire. Several miles our course 
was through this fire, at times the heat was intense, and 
the smoke suffocating! The men were very uneasy all 
the time, fearing an explosion of their cartridges. We 
finally emerged from the woods into a fair road, which 
carried us by Todd's tavern and a mill. We had left the 
mill behind us several miles, and overtook some of our 
cavalry, who, since it was then two or three o'clock in the 
afternoon, informed us that they were mighty glad to 
see us, because they had been all day fighting \'ankces. 
who were not far ahead. We heard the musketry, and 
the order was given to "close up"; we marched along 
the read for about half a mile, when we filed to the left 
and marched in various directions, sometimes at a snail's 
pace and then in a run! We stood seemingly for hours, 
aufl finally at a double (|uick were thrown into line of 
battle at Spott.sylvania C. H. This was just alx>ut sun- 
set. We did not become engaged, but heard the enemy 
taking position, too. About eight or nine o'clock our 

line was moved about thirty or forty feet to the front, 

208 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 209 

and as we were in the presence of the enemy it was neces- 
sary to use strategy. The markers were taken to the new 
Hne and the officers in forming an aHgnment called out : 
" John " or '' Bob," who answered, *' Where are you? " 
The officer in reply indicated a step or two to his right 
or left, as the direction and distance he wished the 
marker to go, when the marker made the necessary 
change of position, and the line quietly dressed on him. 
In this way the line w^as finally formed, and we lay on 
our arms for the night. Early in the morning of the 9th 
we moved farther to our right, Johnson's division oc- 
cupying the right of Lee's line. The Stonewall Brigade 
was on the left of the division, the Louisiana Brigade 
next on its right, the Second Brigade next, and the Third 
Brigade next; they occupying the right of the division 
and also of the army. The Second Brigade occupied 
what is known as the " Bloody Angle," my regiment, the 
2 1 St Va., being near the toe of the horseshoe, as it is 
often called. As soon as our line was formed we began 
to throw up breastw^orks. After our brigade finished 
their works, our regiment secured a few axes and com- 
menced to cut down the pine bushes that ran nearly up 
to our line at this point. While we were thus engaged, 
the Yankees opened fire on our line from several batter- 
ies, and we took refuge at once in our breastworks, 
which the 21st Va. Regt. found to be no protection, since 
the angle w^as so abrupt that the enemy threw their shell 
in our rear, as well as in our front ! As soon as they 
ceased firing, we went to work and made regular pens 
large enough to hold eight to ten men each, thus protect- 
ing ourselves in all directions. Our regiment, the 21st 
Va., had just finished the pens and the men were taking 
places in them, when an order came from the division 



2IO ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

coiniiiandcr fur us to report to Gen. Geo. 11. Stewart, 
who commanded the Third Brigade of our division. All 
the men and officers of our regiment protested against 
this order. W'c had never fired a gun from hehind a 
breastwork and these were made so much better than 
any we had ever made, we desired to have the honor of 
defending them! We were compelled to go, nevertheless; 
we left our pens with many a grumble, and reported to 
Gen. Stewart, who sent us about three-quarters of a mile 
to the front. We halted in a large wood, on the south 
side of a small branch, and formed a skirmish line along 
this branch. The left of the line ran a short distance 
alc)ng the border of a field, the remainder of the line 
straight through the wood, and ended along the border 
of another field. About one-third of the regiment was 
placed on the line, the remainder took a position about 
two hundred yards in the rear of the center and was 
held as a reserve and also a relief. One of F Company 
was detailed to take orders along the line, and to the regi- 
ment. Xo enemy as yet had been seen, but about half 
an hour after the line had been formed there came a mes- 
sage along the line, saying, *' The Yankees have made 
their appearance and are moving to the left ; " that is our 
right. Late in the evening their skirmishers advanced 
within range, in front of our left, and skirmishing con- 
tinued until night. During the night other companies 
from our regiment relieved those on the skirmish line; 
and wlien morning came, we found that the enemy had 
moved far enough to their left to come in contact with 
oin* right, where skirmishing was kept up all day. with 
an occasional shot on our left. The enemy had not made 
their appearance before our center. Heavy fighting oc- 
rnrnw] along the line of breastworks during the day, to 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 211 

our left. The breastworks occupied by Dole's Brigade 
and a company of Richmond Howitzers, just to the left 
of the Stonewall Brigade of our division, were captured 
by I the enemy; but troops near-by were hurried to that 
point, and as soon as they could be formed in line, the or- 
der was given to charge, and drive the Yanks out ! This 
was done quickly and our line was reestablished. In this 
charge a portion of the Second Brigade participated, and 
were among the first to plant our standard on our breast- 
works again. On the nth an occasional shot was fired 
from their extreme left, and right of our regiment skir- 
mish line, and we could hear some heavy fighting along 
the line of battle on our left. Soon after dark the Yan- 
kees commenced to move in front of our skirmish line, — 
we could hear the rumble of wheels and the noise of 
marching and the command to " close up," and it was 
far in the night before the sounds ceased. This was the 
prelude to an attack such as was not witnessed during 
the war, and, I expect, was the heaviest attack ever made 
at a single point by any army of the world ! It seems 
that Gen. Hancock, with his corps of 25,000 men, con- 
sisting of four divisions, eighty-five regiments of infan- 
try and thirteen batteries of artillery, assisted by Wright's 
Sixth corps of 15,000 men, was ordered to break our line 
on the right. During the night of the nth Gen. Han- 
cock moved this force to the front of the skirmish line 
of the 2 1st Va. Regt., and formed a line of attack, — 
two divisions front, the regiments massed, double columns 
on center, making ten or twelve lines of battle. They 
were ordered to move right ahead at the firing of the 
signal gun at 4:30 a. m. — but the time was changed to 
4:35 — and not to fire a shot until they were inside of 
our works. Day broke on the 12th of May with a 



21 J ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

heavy fog, drops of water were dripping from the trees, 
as if after a rain. I had started from the reserve of 
our regiment to the skirmish Hne with an order, when the 
stilhiess was hroken by a cannon shot and the scream- 
ing of a shell ! 1 put my hands instantly to my head to 
see if it was on my shoulders; the shell seemed to come 
so near me that it certainly took off my head! (Such 
feelings as this often come to a soldier!) Recovering 
from my dazed condition I proceeded. Before I 
reached our line I could hear the sound of the marching 
of 4ci,ooo men, and soon a few shots from our skirmish 
line on the left put all on the watch. I saw the line ap- 
proaching to my left, ran hack to the colonel and re- 
ported to him ; and he immediately called the regiment to 
attention. By this time the enemy had approached so 
near that the regiment could see them. We saw their 
immense numbers. Some of the skirmish officers ap- 
peared and reported to the colonel that the enemy had 
run over some of their men, that they seemed to pay no 
attention to our men, and that the body was the largest 
they ever saw! I was immediately sent out on the line 
to recall all the skirmishers whom I could find; and as 
soon as this was done, we faced about and marched to 
our line of battle, making a circuit to the left so as to 
avoid the enemy, who had now passed between us and 
our breastworks. We at once heard heavy fighting in 
our front. As soon as we came in sight of a field the 
regiment halted, and the colonel sent me forward to make 
a recognizance. Running to the field. I saw that the 
farther end of it was perfectly blue with \'ankees, and 
saw the smoke of the terrific fighting that was going on 
further off! Running back. I made my rei)ort to the 
colonel, lie called the rcL-iincnt to atlenlion and made 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 213 

a circuit further to the left. This was the second and 
last time during the war that a feeling of dread came 
over me that I would be captured, and I said to myself, 
" Well, old fellow, you are gone this time, and I will not 
give ten cents for your chances of getting away!" I 
was sent forward as a pilot, and in a short time an old. 
ragged, dirty Confederate rose up from behind a bush 
in my front, and took deliberate aim at me with his 
musket. I cried, '' Don't shoot ! we are friends ! " I 
saw an expression of doubt on the old fellow's face, 
he knowing it was the direction of the enemy, momentar- 
ily expected. I made haste to exclaim again that we 
were skirmishers driven in, and were the 21st Va. Regi- 
ment! Men rose up all along the line, and I knew we 
were in front of a Confederate skirmish line. How my 
heart jumped ! I felt so good I could have hugged every 
one of them! We passed through their line and soon 
reached the breastworks occupied by Davis's Brigade. 
Wliile our regiment was at the front, our line of battle 
was extended to the right by troops from Hill's corps, 
and this was a part of his line. We went to the rear 
and reported to Gen. Ewell, who informed us that our 
division had been captured and that he thought we had 
been captured too. This was a terrible blow to the 
army, the capture of Johnson's division! — this was 
Jackson's old division, and those were the men who had 
done so much fighting, and who had made tliose wonder- 
ful marches for him. They were now prisoners in the 
hands of the Yankees. The number was small it is true 
for a division, but they were such trained soldiers that 
they counted as many in a fight. Jackson's old division 
was annihilated, and ceased to be a division from that 
date. The Old Stonewall, the Second, Third, and the 



214 ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

Louisiana Briirades lost their orcranizatioii als(X Han- 
cock struck the breastworks and rushed over them, his 
men turning to the rii^ht and left after getting inside, 
and took our division in the rear. The artillery that was 
supporting the line had l^een withdrawn during the night, 
and had just gotten back, when the attack was made, and 
only one piece had time to get into position and tire one 
shot when the captain said he heard someone in his rear 
say, '' Don't you fire that piece ! " and on looking around, 
he was confronted by hundreds of Yankees. They cap- 
tured all sixteen pieces! The situation seemed so criti- 
cal at this time, that *' Marse Robert " came to the front 
to look after it; he sent for Brig. Gen. Gordon, who was 
in command of the reserves, and gave him directions 
about bringing them up, where to place them, etc. Gor- 
don soon had them in line, when Gen. Lee's presence was 
noticed amongst the troops, and it was here that the 
men showed the second time their devotion to him. A 
great cry went up from them, *' Gen. Lee to the rear! 
Gen. Lee to the rear! If Gen. Lee will go to the rear 
we promise to drive the enemy back!" But the old 
hero did not stir. (ien. Gordon then rode to him and 
took his bridle and gently led liim to the rear, saying to 
him. *' Those are Virginians and Georgians, Gen. Lee, 
and they will do their duty!" '*Yes! Yes! we will 
drive the \'ankces back, if (len. Lee will go to the rear! " 
was the cry from the men, many of whom were in tears! 
And well did they redeem their word! As soon as the 
order was given. ''Forward!" they went, and it was 
one of the most terrible battles of the war. in which the 
slaughter of Hancock's men. who were hemmed in this 
angle, was so great that it received its name of " The 
Bloody .'\ngle." The enemy were finally dri\en back, 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 215 

and sought refuge in a part of our captured breastworks, 
where they were compelled to stay. The men of the re- 
serve covered themselves with glory. The troops who 
helped them shared the praise with them! Gordon was 
made a Major-General at once! 

All this had taken place while my regiment was being 
driven in, and while it was at the rear. We were given 
fresh ammunition and ordered to the front, a staff of- 
ficer being sent with us to show to us our position. On 
arriving at the designated point, we formed a line and 
advanced through a large wood, and soon we were under 
fire; but the undergrowth prevented us from seeing the 
enemy. We advanced until we came to a small bottom 
and going through that, reached the rise and plainly saw 
the Yankees about one hundred and fifty yards from us. 
They were in the pens made by our regiment, they were 
standing up in those pens as thick as herrings in a barrel, 
and as far back behind them as the smoke would allow 
us to see, — such a mass of men I never saw! We found 
one Confederate soldier, an Alabamian, who was stand- 
ing behind a large pine tree, loading and firing with as 
much deliberation as if he were firing at a target. He 
was keeping the whole of Hancock's force back at this 
point. He said he was a sharpshooter, and his line was 
on each side of him ! There certainly was no other 
Confederate in front of our regiment line, nor could we 
see one either on the right or left. We lay dov/n, taking 
advantage of everything that offered a protection, and 
opened on the enemy ; — musket balls were fairly rain- 
ing, great limbs of trees were cut ofif by bullets, as if 
by an ax, the men seemed more uneasy about them than 
about the balls. No cannon were used here. This was 
the heaviest fire the world ever saw at a single point! 



2i6 ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

The fire from those 40,000 men was so heavy that they 
hterally shot trees to pieces! The enemy used mules 
to bring ammunition on the field, and some of their men 
fired over 400 rounds, and there is on exhibition at the 
War Department in Washington an oak tree about four- 
teen inches in diameter, that was severed by minie balls 
at this time. Our colonel and lieutenant-colonel were 
wounded here early in the action, Seay and Richardson 
of F Company, and many of the regiment were wounded. 
After staying here about two or three hours, we were 
ordered to tiie rear, and stayed there the remainder of 
the day. gathering uj) the stragglers, and those of our 
division who had escaped capture. That night we lay 
down on the ground for rest, with truly grateful hearts 
that our regiment had been ordered out of the breast- 
works, even against our i)rotest, and sent to the front 
on special service, escaping capture ! 

We remained in the rear until the morning of the 15th. 
We found in the middle of our camp, in the open field, 
an old hare's bed containing four little ones, the old 
mammy having run away on our ai)proach ! I do not 
know that I ever saw men more solicitous for the welfare 
of anything than were those grizzly warriors for those 
little bunnies. It was raining, and some wanted to make 
a house over them, others wanted to hold their oilcloths 
over them, no one was allowed to touch them, one might 
look as much as one choose, but, hands ofT! When we 
left it was a sad parting. 

This attack by Hancock lliat was so formidable and 
was intended to cut Lee's hnes, was one of the most 
terrible battles of the war, and ended in a miserable fail- 
ure. (3ur line was straightened across the bend that night, 
breastworks were thmun up and we had a much better 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 217 

line than before, both as to direction and position. While 
we were in the rear, we collected about six hundred men 
of the division, and marclied to the front and took posi- 
tion in this new ] i\.\ The day was quiet in our front. 
On the i6th we 1..: 1 ^\)me skirmishing. On the 17th 
Rodes' skirmishers :.iA our regiment made an attack 
on the enemy. Oa the i8th, the enemy, having been 
heavily reinforce J, miide an attack in our front, and 
were easily repuls-^^d with heavy loss. On the 19th the 
enemy disappeared from our front during the night, 
moving to their left. The Second Corps followed them, 
and came up with them late in the evening, when we 
made a fierce attack, lasting until late in the night. Dur- 
ing the night we marched back to our old position 'n\ 
the breastworks, and rested there. 

About the coolest thing I saw during the war was un- 
der that terrific fire from the Yankees who were in our 
breastworks. It should be remembered that when we 
took our position in their front, we found one lone Con- 
federate who was keeping up a steady fire on them ! 
This man had captured a Yankee knapsack which he 
had strapped to his back. Soon after our arrival he 
stopped firing, and said he wanted to see what it had in 
it, and that he needed a change of underclothing very 
badly. Taking off the knapsack, he opened it, and from 
the remarks he made as he took out each article and in- 
spected it, he seemed to have gotten possession of a big 
clothing store with a notion store thrown in! He se- 
lected a suit of underclothing, laid them aside, then re- 
placed the remainder in the knapsack, fastened that, then 
deliberately undressed, taking off every piece of his 
clothing, even his socks, put on the clean ones, donned 
his old uniform, quietly took his gun, brought it up to 



2i8 ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

his sliuulder, took deliberate aim and fired, and loaded 
and fired as long as \ve were there! 

Brig. Gen. Walker, the commander of the Stonewall 
Brigade, in writing of this battle says: '' The rapid firing 
of our skirmishers in a heavy wooded ravine in front 
of the center of Johnson's line, gave notice that the enemy 
was advancing, and the heavy tramp of a large body of 
infantry and the sharp words of command could be dis- 
tinctly heard. Our men were all up and ready for them 
with muskets cocked, peering through the gloom for the 
first glimpse of their foes. The enemy had emerged from 
the ravine, and advanced about one-third of the way 
across the open plateau before they could be seen, of 
could themselves see our works on account of the fog. 
All at once the slow lifting fog showed them our heavily 
fortified position, some four or five hundred yards in 
their front. At this unexpected but unwelcome sight, 
the advancing column paused and wavered and hesitated 
and seemed to refuse the task before them. Their 
mr)unlcd officers rode to the front and urged them on, 
while many officers on foot and horseback shouted, ' For- 
ward I men, forward'! and repeated the words again 
and again. Then the moment for the Confederate fire 
had come, and the men rising to full height, leveled 
their trusty nuiskets deliberately at the halting column, 
with a ])racticed aim which would have carried havoc 
into their ranks. But the searching damp had disarmed 
them, and instead of the leaping line of fire and the sharp 
crack of the musket came the pop! pop! pop! of explod- 
ing caps as the hammer fell upon them! .\ few, very 
few pieces fired clear, fresh caps were ])ut on only to 
produce another failure; the jinwder had gotten damp 
and would not fire ! 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 219 

" As the enemy received no fire from our line, they took 
heart and again moved forward with rapid strides; on 
they came unopposed and in a few moments had torn 
our well constructed abattis away and were over our 
w^orks taking prisoners of our unarmed troops. This 
statement as to the failure of the muskets of our men 
to fire is true, as to that portion of our line between 
the Stonewall brigade and the salient, which was as far 
as my vision extended; but I have been told by officers 
of the Second Brigade that the right of that brigade 
had been more careful or more fortunate, and their 
muskets were in good order, and that the enemy was re- 
pulsed in front of that portion of our line with great 
loss, and that they held their position until the enemy's 
troops, w^ho had crossed to their left, had swung round 
in their rear and come up behind them." 

Major D. W. Anderson of the 44th Va. Regiment of 
the Second Brigade was officer of the day on the nth, 
and he says : Capt. Clary of Gen. Johnson's staff came 
to him at 4 a. m. on the 12th, and stated that Gen. John- 
son sent him orders to see the regimental commanders, 
and tell them to wake up their men and have them in 
the trenches, and see that their guns were in good order. 
This order was promptly obeyed, and he further says 
that w^hen the enemy advanced they were repulsed with 
great slaughter, not one getting to the breastworks until 
they had crossed to the left and came up in their rear, 
when they were taken prisoners and marched back some 
two or more miles to Provost Marshal General Patrick's 
headquarters, where, he says, one of Gen. Patrick's staff 
said to him, " They charged us wnth only 45,000 this 
morning ! " 

Among the lost in our division were Alajor Gen. John- 



220 ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

son and Brig. Gen. Stewart, captured ; Brig. Gen. 
Walker and Col. \V. A. Witclier, who commanded the 
Second Brigade, were wounded. F Company lost W. B. 
Edmunds and P. S. Richeson, wounded; and W. C. 
Seay died a few hours after being wounded. 

While we were engaged in these battles, Sheridan 
with his cavalry left Grant's army May 9, 1864, on a 
raid to cut Lee's communications, and capture Richmond ! 
On the morning of the 12th, he arrived at Brook school- 
house, about three and a (juarter miles from Richmond 
on the Brook turnpike. At that time my grandmother, 
the widow of Capt. John Goddin, lived on the west side 
of that road two and a quarter miles from Richmond, 
her house fronting south. In front of it, several hun- 
dred yards off, was a fort, situated on the turnpike at 
Laburnam. On the Hermitage road w^as a similar fort, 
and they were connected by breastworks. 

On the morning of tlie 12th grandmother got up early 
to do the churning, preferring to do it herself, taking her 
position on the front porch. When the butter ** had 
come," she went to the well at the side of the house to 
cool the churn dasher, and get some cold water to take 
the butter up. At the same moment a squad of ^'ankee 
cavalry came around the other side <>f the house, and, 
perceiving the clunn. helped themselves to buttermilk, 
and when the old lady came back she found the ^'ankees 
on the porch, one with the churn to his lips, drinking! 
It made the old lady hot. and she whacked him as hard 
as she could with the dasher, and said some very plain 
words to the party. They ran off in a good humor, say- 
ing they would see if our breastworks were manned. 
Going down a dividing fence until they reached the La- 
burnam fence, thev fired a few shots and at once discov- 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 221 

ered the breastworks were manned! Running back to 
the house they went to the barnyard, took possession of 
a mule and cart, filled the cart with corn, and drove off 
towards the main body, which was at Brook school- 
house. All at grandmother's home lamented the loss of 
the fine mule and cart, but about two hours after the 
mule came back with the empty cart! 

That party of Yankees went nearer to Richmond than 
any during the war. I should say the distance by the 
Brook turnpike was about two miles and one hundred 
yards. 



XXV 

HANOVER JUNCTIOX. nKTIIFSDA CHURCH. COLD HARBOR 

On May 19th llic Second Corps singularly occupied 
the left of Lee's line of battle at Spottsylvania C. H. 
When the line was first formed we were on the right, but 
Grant made all his movements to our right, and Gen. 
Lee. in withdrawing men from the left to strengthen his 
right, had taken all except our corps. On the 21st we 
were aroused at daybreak, and as soon as we formed 
ranks, marched out of our breastworks towards the right 
of our line and as we passed, an occasional cannon shot 
and minie ball from the enemy passed over us. We 
marched past our right a short distance and took a road 
leading in the direction of Richmond, continuing the 
march in that direction till night, when we stopped to 
rest. 

It will he remembered that Edward Johnson's division 
were nearly all captured on May 12. This was Jack- 
son's old division and consisted of the Stonewall (the 
First), the Second, and Third brigades, all Virginians, 
except two North Carolina regiments in the Third, and 
the I"<»urth Brigade, which consisted of Louisianians. 
After bringing together the Virginia stragglers and such 
as were not captured, and putting regiments into com- 
panies, and brigades into regiments, we found we had 
about six hundred men. These men were organized 
and called a brigade, and William 1'erry. an officer of the 
Stonewall brigade, was made Brigadier General and ap- 
pointed its commander. It was known to the end of the 

222 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 223 

war as Terry's Brigade. The Louisiana brigade was 
consolidated with another from that state in Early's 
division, and was commanded by Brig. Gen. York. The 
North Carolinians joined some brigade from that state. 

When Terry's brigade marched out into the road the 
morning of the 21st, we were joined by Evans' brigade 
and York's brigade and were told that Brig. Gen. Gordon 
had been made a Major-General and put in command 
of these three brigades, which were afterwards known as 
Gordon's division of the Second Corps (Jackson's old 
Corps), the division taking a prominent part in all its 
operations until the end came at Appomattox. While 
the brigade was known officially as Terry's, its members 
continued to designate the different bodies as the Stone- 
wall brigade, the Second, and Third, and in speaking or 
writing of them I use these names. Thus the Stonewall 
brigade consisted in our view of its old members who 
were present, however few, and we spoke of the mem- 
bers of other brigades in the same way. We did this 
instead of using regiments to designate portions of this 
multiform brigade. 

Gen. Gordon soon rode by, and we filed into the road 
and followed him, reaching Hanover Junction in the 
night and ahead of Grant, who was marching for the 
same point. The next morning we formed a line of 
battle in a wood across the road on which he was march- 
ing, and when his advance approached, it found Lee in 
his front again. We remained in our position, momen- 
tarily expecting an attack. Grant moved some of his 
troops across the South Anna river, and made a demon- 
stration in front of our line. We were joined during 
the day and night by the remainder of Lee's army, who 
took position to our right and left. The next morning 



224 OXE Ol' J ACKSOX'S FOOT CAVALRY 

our division was hurried at a double quick to the left 
of Lee's line, and at once formed a line of battle. The 
hurry and the firing in our front, caused us to expect to 
become heavily engaged. We waited several hours and 
marched to the right of the line, staying there all night. 
The following morning we took position on the east of 
the Riclimond, TVedericksburg & Potomac railroad, and 
threw up breastw^orks ; and continued in that position 
until the morning of the 27th. 

Grant, after making a slight attack, left our front 
during the night of the 26th, swinging around to our 
right. The Second corps, early on the morning of the 
27th, were on the march to oppose him again. We 
marched to Pole Green Church, the place where Jack- 
son first struck McClellan's outpost in 1862. On the 
morning of the 29th, we formed a line of battle not far 
from Bethesda Church and threw up breastworks, and 
when Grant came along the road that evening, he found 
our division across the road in his front and again ready 
for him! After slight skirmishing he drew off without 
making an attack. On the next morning the Second 
corps made an attack in our front and drove him alx:)ut 
one and a half miles; we then returned to our line, re- 
suming our position in the breastworks. 

Tucker Randolph, the gallant lx)y soldier, an old 1\ 
was killed in tliis fight. He deserves more than a pass- 
ing notice. Entering the service at seventeen years old, 
he took an active part in the comi)any from the first, 
and was one of the first men promoted on getting into 
the field. .\ corporal, then a sergeant, wounded at 
Kernstown. he was soon after promoted to a lieutenancy 
and a])i>ointed an aide on Gen. John Pegram's staff, and 
was killed while displaying conspicuous gallantry! 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 225 

We moved to the right on the 31st, and again threw 
up breastworks. On June ist the Second corps marched 
to the front to make an attack on the enemy, but for 
some reason it was not made; after sharp skirmishing 
lasting until sunset, w^e returned to our breastworks. 
On the next morning we moved out again and made 
the attack, taking three lines of fortifications and cap- 
turing about seven hundred prisoners. We remained in 
the enemy's line next to them until about midnight of 
the 3d, when we withdrew, and took our old position in 
our breastworks. While we were in the enemy's works, 
they made several slight attacks on us, firing their artil- 
lery through the woods and once they fired two rammers 
of their cannon, the rammers sticking in the ground a 
little in rear of the 21st Va. Regt. Corporal Ander- 
son of F Company was wounded in those fortifications 
on the 3d, and Captain Jordan was severely wounded 
while he was on the skirmish line in front of them. 

The enemy left the front of our corps during the night 
of the 5th. We followed them the next morning, and 
found them fortified about one and a half miles to our 
right. On the 7th, the skirmishers were ordered for- 
ward, and our division w^as ordered to support them. 
We found the enemy strongly fortified. On the 9th, 
the Second corps moved to the right and rear of Gen. 
Lee's line, w^here we stacked arms and went into camp, 
after being on active duty for thirty-five days and under 
fire each day. 

Because Lieut. -Gen. Ewxll was sick, the corps was 
under the command of Major-Gen. Early during these 
operations, and Major-Gen. Ramsuer was assigned to 
command Early's division. 

The Second Corps now consisted of Rodes', Gordon's, 



226 ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

and Ramsuer's divisions of infantry with the usual ar- 
tillery. Since the battle of the Wilderness May 5th, 
our corps had lost heavily in men and officers; Maj.-Gcn. 
Edward Johnson and Brig. -Gen. Stewart were captured, 
Brig.-Gencrals Pegram, J. A. Walker, R. D. Johnston 
and Hays were wounded, and Brig. -Generals Stafford, 
Doles, Daniel and J. M. Jones were killed. The ** ham- 
mering " had commenced and was telling, although we 
did not realize it at that time. 

The Army of Northern Virginia had inflicted terrible 
losses on the enemy. It is said by their historians that 
Grant lost at this time about as many men as there were 
in Gen. Lee's army — the loss he sustained before cross- 
ing James river made the total about ten thousand more 
than Lee's whole force. 

One of the incidents of this campaign was the visit 
of an old up-C(nintry man, who came to see his son in 
our division. He wore a stovepipe hat, and the men 
had great fun over the hat, Init he was a jolly old fellow 
and was not worried by them ; — he was very anxious 
to see a battle. Wc made one of our advances while 
he was with us ; he accompanied his son, and returned 
with us unhurt, the most enthusiastic man I ever saw. 

While we were marching througli Hanover County, 
an old lady came to the fence, which ran along the road, 
and wanted to know of us if we belonged to " Mr. Lee's 
Company." We told her we belonged to Gcii. Lee's 
army! She wanted to know how her son was, and 
when we informed her that we did not know him. she 
was perfectly astonished to think any man in ** Mr. 
Lee's Comi)any " did not kntnv all the men in it. 



XXVI 



LYNCHBURG 



On June 12th the Second Corps received orders to 
cook rations and be ready to move early the next morn- 
ing. We were aroused about midnight, formed line, 
and before day marched out of the woods into a road 
leading towards Mechanicsville. Arriving there we 
turned towards Richmond, thinking we were going to 
head Grant off on the south side of the Chickahominy. 
Soon after crossing that stream, we turned to the right 
instead of the left, as we supposed. '' What does this 
mean ? " was the question among the men. We marched 
around Richmond to the Three Chops Road and then 
turned to the right again — we gave up guessing, except 
that possibly Jackson's old corps was going back to the 
valley. 

In marching around Richmond, our route was about 
a mile from the home of relatives of mine, and I went 
to see them. When I reached the house I found all the 
ladies of the family and two of Richmond's belles as- 
sembled in a large porch. I was welcomed most cordi- 
ally, and told I was just in time for luncheon. In a few 
minutes the dining-room servant appeared with a large 
waiter filled with ash cakes. Without formality each 
took one in his hand, and was then presented with a 
huge glass filled with buttermilk and ice, one of the 
belles waiting on me. In this plain but wholesouled 
manner w^e partook of our luncheon. That was a rich 
treat to me, and I know that it was enjoyed by the belles 

227 



228 ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

more than if set with fashion's formality. I can see 
those belles now as they were eating their ash cake and 
buttermilk, entering into the fun and mirth of the occa- 
sion, notwithstanding we could hear the distant cannon 
from Lee's and Grant's armies and the cheers from my 
own corps, marching we knew not whither. We 
marched until late in the afternoon, and went into camp 
near Ground Squirrel bridge, having marched over 
twenty-five miles. On the following morning we 
marched again. About ten o'clock Gen. Gordon passed 
us and told us not to march so fast, or the mules to the 
wagons would not be able to keep up with us, and in 
consequence we would not have any supper. Gordon 
always had something pleasant to say to his men, and 
I will bear my testimony that he was the most gallant 
man I ever saw on a battlefield. He had a way of put- 
ting things to the men that was irresistible, and he 
showed the men, at all times, that he shrank from 
nothing in battle on account of himself. Many a time 
I saw him ride along the skinnish line in our valley 
campaign and say to the skirmishers, " Let's drive those 
fellows (the enemy) away, and let our line of battle 
stay where they are! 1 hey are lazy fellows, anyway! " 
or some similar remark. The skirmishers were devoted 
to him, and would generally do as he wished. 

On the 15th we came in sight of the Central Rail- 
road, passing Trevillian's depot, where Sheridan's cav- 
alry and ours, under Hampton, had had a fight two or 
three days before. We could see the dead horses, torn- 
down fences, etc., as nothing had been touched ; and we 
saw the rail pens used by Hampton's men that Sheridan 
made such an ado about, saying he could nnt whip 
Hampton as his men were behind such strong fortifica- 




1864 



and tin can for cooking. 



Opposite page 228. 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 229 

tions! On the evening of the i6th we went into camp 
about one mile beyond Keswich depot. On the 17th my 
brigade got on the cars a Httle north of Keswich and was 
carried to Lynchburg. Much to the surprise of the men 
we found the town in great excitement, because the 
enemy, under the command of Gen. Hunter, had ad- 
vanced to within two miles of the place. There was a 
small force in his front and the citizens expected imme- 
diately to see the enemy march into the town. Our 
presence brought an immediate change. We were 
cheered to the echo, and the ladies waved their hands 
and gave us lunches and cool water as we marched 
through the city. All wished that Hunter would stay 
until Early could bring all his army. We marched past 
the fair grounds and formed a line of battle, were or- 
dered forward and halted near the schoolhouse, remain- 
ing there all night. We heard skirmishing in our front 
and heavy cannonading on our left. We remained in 
line of battle until the afternoon of the i8th, when we 
received orders to cook rations and be ready to move 
early in the morning. This meant that the remainder 
of our force was up, and we were going to attack 
Hunter as soon as it was light enough to see. Our 
skirmish line advanced in the morning and found that 
Hunter had slipped out of the trap during the night, 
and was in full retreat. Immediate pursuit com- 
menced, and we overtook him going into camp at Lib- 
erty, Bedford County. Our advance attacked him at 
once and he retreated further on, we camping in the 
place selected by him. We marched twenty-five miles 
during the day, and it is seen that we did not let him rest 
much. We followed Hunter closely until we came to 
Salem, Roanoke County, when Gen. Early gave up the 



230 ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

pursuit and turned towards the valley. Before we 
reached Salem, he sent McCausland with his cavalry 
around to the rear of Hunter. McCausland succeeded 
in cutting off part of the enemy's wagon train, and cap- 
tured ten pieces of artillery. 

During this march, soon after passing Big Lick, in 
the afternoon, approaching one of the handsome resi- 
dences in that part of the country, we noticed several 
ladies standing on the side of the road, and when we 
came nearer we saw two beautiful young ladies and 
their maids and near them were two huge wash tubs. 
The young ladies gave us an invitation to come forward 
and partake of some ice water and brandy julep. The 
men needed no second invitation ; the head of the col- 
umn marched up, the young ladies handed each man a 
drink, which was received eagerly, with many grateful 
wishes for their future welfare. I was told that the 
tubs were repeatedly emi)tie(l and filled. 'Jliis was the 
biggest julep treat of my experience. 

We marched a short distance from Salem and en- 
camped, remaining in this camp the next day, taking a 
much-needed rest. Many men were barefooted, — .some 
for want of shoes, others having sore feet from new 
shoes and unable to wear them, and to the latter class I 
belonged. I started from Richmond wearing a new pair 
of heavy English shoes and when 1 took them off at 
the close of the first day's march, nearly all the skin on 
my feet came off with my socks, and I went through the 
campaign as far as Washington City and back to Win- 
chester barefooted, and kept my i)lace in the ranks, too. 
Several days I carried my shoes tied together and 
thrown over my shoulders, but was troubled so much 
by questions and requests U) buy them, that I finally 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 231 

gave them to a comrade who had none. On the 23d 
we took up our march, and the next day, at the request 
of the men, we were marched over the Natural Bridge, 
and were allowed to stop there an hour or two to rest 
and view the bridge. Resuming our march, we went 
into camp about sunset. The next morning as we passed 
through Lexington, the whole corps marched through 
the burial ground and past Jackson's grave. What hal- 
lowed memories it brought up! and many a tear was 
seen trickling down the cheeks of his veterans ; and how 
many of them had crossed the river, and were then rest- 
ing ''beneath the shade of the trees" with him! We 
continued our march, and on the 27th reached Staunton. 

Fourteen clays had elapsed since we left Lee's line 
at Richmond. During that time we marched in eleven 
days, 235 miles, the last day marching only six miles. 
On our march from Lynchburg, we passed many private 
places that had been pillaged or destroyed by Hunter's 
army, and at Lexington we passed the ruins of the Vir- 
ginia Military Institute which was burned by him while 
he was on his march to Lynchburg. 

On the 28th we resumed our march down the valley 
and felt perfectly at home, since nearly all the valley 
from Staunton to the Potomac river was familiar to 
us, and many of its inhabitants old acquaintances. We 
stopped regularly at night and continued the march each 
day. On the afternoon of July 3d we reached Martins- 
burg, running in on the Yankees who were there, so 
suddenl}^ that they did not have time to move any of 
their stores. They were making big preparations to 
celebrate the Fourth, and many of the men had received 
boxes of good things from home and friends. The 
depot and express office were filled with articles of this 



232 ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

kind. A guard was placed around these buildings and 
their storehouses. The express oftlce was put in charge 
of a quartermaster who was an old friend of mine. At 
night I went there and inquired of the guard for him 
and he let me into the building. He was very glad to 
see me, as he had only one man to help him get these 
articles in shape, and asked me to help him ; this I con- 
sented to do, if he would give me a barrel of cakes. 
He said ** all right." I found one and carried it out 
and turned it over to my company. Returning, I went 
to work with a will, but with so many good things in 
sight, and others we knew were in the boxes, I was 
compelled to say to my friend that I must have some- 
thing to eat before I could work any more, and added, 
'* I hadn't * nary ' mouthful for three days." I looked 
over some of the boxes and choosing one, opened it, and 
found it filled with cakes, oranges, bananas, lemons, etc., 
and a bottle of wine. T got a chair, as the soldiers said 
*' a sure enough chair,'' and sat down to my box and 
ate, and ate, until I could eat no more. Then I went to 
work again with renewed energy. The quartermaster 
just then wanted something from one of his associates 
who was at the depot, and I offered to go for him, which 
was agreed to, and he gave me his directions. When 
I reached the depot I found it filled with trunks, boxes, 
etc. After discharging my errand, I looked around the 
depot a few minutes, and told the man in charge that 
he ought to send his friend, the quartermaster, one of 
the trunks for him to put some of the articles at the 
express ofllce in to take with him. He said he would 
be much obliged if I would take one. I shouldered one 
at once, carried it out, and got a comrade to help carry 
it to the express office. I made my report and opened 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 233 

the trunk. In it was a magnificent saddle and a lot of 
clothing, which I gave to the quartermaster, a fine pair 
of boots, a gold pen, a lot of writing paper, and a plum 
cake which I '' confiscated," the boots fitting me to a 
T. When my feet were healed so that I could wear 
them, I wore them until I went home. I joined my com- 
pany, who were profuse in their thanks for the cakes, 
and soon fell asleep, — dreaming of little cakes, big 
cakes, and a mountain made of cakes. 

The next morning was the Fourth of July, 1864! 
Gen. Early did not move us at the usual early hour, but 
issued to the men the good things captured the evening 
before. They were divided among the men as fairly as 
possible, F Company getting a few oranges, lemons, 
cakes and candy, and a keg of lager beer. We certainly 
enjoyed the treat, and celebrated the day as well as we 
could for our hosts, and regretted they did not stay to 
preside for us. We drank their health with the wish 
that they would do the like again. This was the big- 
gest Fourth of July picnic celebration we enjoyed dur- 
ing the war. We took up our march and crossed the 
Potomac river at Shepherdstown. I took off my cloth- 
ing, made a bundle, secured it around my neck with my 
belt. I walked into the water and commenced to ford. 
About one-third of the way the bottom of the river was 
covered with large round stones, then a smooth and 
level bed of granite which extended nearly to the oppo- 
site bank. I got along very well until I reached the 
level granite bottom, which was covered with minute 
shells, adhering to the granite, so very sharp that they 
stuck into my feet at every step. I walked on them 
until I thought I could not take another step, stopped, 
but could not keep my feet still, — thought of sitting 



234 OXE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

clown, but the water was just deep enough to cover my 
mouth and nose if I had sat down. I thought I would 
turn back, but I saw it was just as far back as to the 
other side. Tears actually came into my eyes. I was 
never in as much torture for the same length of time in 
my life. Finally I got over, with the resolve never to 
ford there again without shoes. 

We went into camp at night on the banks of the 
Antietam, on the ground occupied by a part of McClel- 
lan's army at the battle of Sharpsburg. The next day 
Gordon's division marched to Harper's Ferry, where 
we drove the enemy into their fortifications. We re- 
mained there the succeeding day, skirmishing, and left 
during the night, marching to Norristown. where we 
joined the remainder of our corps. The next morning 
we crossed South Mountain at Fox Gap, and went into 
camp near Middletown. 

During these operations Gen. Early had been joined 
by Gen. Breckenbridge's command, which we found at 
Lynchburg. It consisted of two brigades of infantry, 
some cavalry, and artillery. Gordon's division at this 
juncture was assigned to Breckenbridge, making a corps 
or wing under his command. 



XXVII 



MONOCACY 



We left camp or rather our bivouac near Middletown 
early on July 9th. Taking the road to Frederick City, 
Maryland, we marched around the town and in sight 
of it. It was a beautiful day in this beautiful country. 
The sun was bright and hot, a nice breeze was blowing 
which kept us from being too warm, the air was laden 
with the perfume of flowers, the birds were singing in 
bush and tree, all the fields were green with growing 
crops; the city, with its thriftiness, looked as if it had 
just been painted and whitened; a few floating clouds 
adding effect to the landscape. It was a day and hour 
to impress all. We were quietly marching along, talk- 
ing about the scene and the day. 

In our march we had left the city in our rear and 
were nearing the Monocacy, a river crossing the road 
on which we were marching. We soon heard the crack 
of muskets, and at almost the same moment the roar 
of cannon! We knew what that meant, that the 
Yankees were going to dispute our crossing of the river. 
The two divisions in front of us were hurried forward, 
our division halted after going a short distance, and we 
were told to stack arms and rest, as we would not go 
into the fight. The men took off blankets, oilcloths, 
etc., and stretched them in fence corners, on muskets and 
rails, to make a shelter from the sun. We were in the 
road and on a hill which overlooked the battle that was 
about to be fought in our front. We made ourselves 

235 



236 ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

comfortable and lay down under the shelter provided, 
to look at a battle, something we had never done. We 
were Jackson's old '' foot cavalry." We saw our men 
take position in line of battle, the skirmishers go for- 
ward, become engaged with the enemy on the opposite 
side of the river, a battery here and there on the other 
side shelling our men, while the continual crock of mus- 
kets told that the shelling made no impression on our 
skirmishers, who were now in the bushes along the river 
bank. Some of our guns went into position and opened 
fire, our line of battle moved forward, — all this in 
plain view of our division. It was very exciting to us 
old Confederates, and a yell went up along our line 
every few minutes as we saw- our men get into some bet- 
ter place and nearer the enemy. The men of our divi- 
sion were suggesting to each other a line on which the 
two divisions should cross over. Suddenly our atten- 
tion was called to a man riding up the road towards us, 
leaving a streak of dust behind him. He rode up to 
Gen. Gordon, who was at the head of the division, de- 
livered a message, the general gave an order to his of- 
ficers in front, and mounted his horse. We were called 
to attention, the men taking down llieir blankets and 
oilcloths, and rolling them up to take with them. The 
order was given, "Take arms! — no time now^ for 
blankets, but get into your places at once." ** Right 
face! forward march!" was the command all down the 
line, and away we went. " What is the matter?" was 
the question amongst the men. We thought we were 
to be spectators, and why just as things had began to 
get interesting in front, break in ujxin us and actually 
make some of us leave our blankets and oilcloths, arti- 
cles we had captured in some former battle. The men 



l^^ 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 237 

seemed to dislike to lose those articles more than miss 
seeing the battle. We were hurried along the road a 
short distance, and filed to the right, going through 
fields and over fences until we came to the river, we 
suppose a mile or so from our line of battle. We found 
a small path on the river bank leading down to water, 
and on the opposite bank a similar one, denoting a ford 
used by neighbors for crossing the river. The crack- 
ing of muskets on the opposite side of the river told us 
that the front of our division, which had crossed, was 
engaged. My brigade was the rear one, and, as the 
regiments crossed, they marched up the river along the 
low bank and formed in line, and were ordered forward 
to the attack. As the Second Brigade mounted the hill, 
we saw in our front a field of corn about waist high, 
extending to a post and rail fence, and behind that fence 
the Yankee line of battle. They began to shoot at us 
as soon as we were in sight. Our men on our right 
were heavily engaged, and we broke into a run with a 
yell and went toward the fence. In a moment or two 
we captured it, and the Yankees were running to 
another. An officer came along our line and said that 
we were not wanted there, that Gen. Gordon wasl waiting 
for the Second Brigade, that we were wrong and must 
fall back through the corn, behind the hill, on the low 
bank, and form at once and go to Gen. Gordon. We 
had been fighting all the time, but as soon as the men 
could be made to understand, they ran to the rear. The 
brigade was soon formed and we marched by the flank 
further up the river, tl^en the head of the column was 
turned to the right, and we marched up on top of the 
hill. There was Gordon, — I shall recollect him to my 
dying day, — not a man in sight, — he was sitting on his 



238 OXK OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

horse as quietly as if nothing was going on, wearing 
his old red shirt, the sleeves pulled up a little, the only 
indication that he was ready for the fight. Our division 
was heavily engaged on the right, and the troops on the 
other side of the river were keeping up their fire, as we 
could plainly hear. We were to the left of the corn 
field, and marching ohliquely from it. The ground had 
a gentle inclination and the fields were enclosed with 
post and rail fences. As we approached Gen. Gordon, 
he rode forward to meet us and said, " Flurry up, boys," 
turning his horse and taking the lead. The head of the 
colunm was soon near a fence, and high enough up the 
hill to see some distance. Looking through this fence, 
we could see another fence parallel to and about two 
hundred yards from it ; just on the other side of the 
second fence was a line of Yankees marching towards 
the river. They were going at a double quick step and 
at a right-shoulder-shift arms, every man seemed to be 
in place, and the manner of their marching looked more 
like a drill than a movement in battle. The men at the 
head <jf our C(jlumn seeing this, gave a yell, and sang 
out, " At them, boys! " Now came Gen. Gordon's part; 
turning quietly in his saddle he said, " Kcej) cjuiet, we'll 
have f»ur time presently." As we were now near the 
fence Gen. Gordon said, '^ Some of you ])ull down the 
fence, so that we may go through!" In an instant 
several panels of the fence were down, the men quietly 
stepping aside to let the general go through, and as 
soon as this was done, they hurried through the fence. 
The first man to folknv the general through the fence 
was one of V Company, and he was barefooted. The 
general led in the direction in which we had been march- 
ing, and tried to allay the excitement of the men; this 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 239 

he was able to do, until about a hundred passed through 
the fence, when the cry went up from the men, " Charge 
them ! charge them ! " It w^as useless for Gen. Gordon 
to try to stop it now, — nothing but a shot through each 
man could have done it, — and with a yell, we were at 
the fence. A volley from our guns, — and that magnifi- 
cent body of men who were taking their places in line 
w^ere flying! The other men of our brigade came up 
as fast as they could run and delivered their fire at the 
fleeing enemy. Over the fence w^e w^ent, the enemy run- 
ning in all directions. Up went our old yell all along 
the line of our division, and it was answ^ered by our 
comrades on the other side of the river. A little way 
beyond the fence the hill falls abruptly to a small val- 
ley, and through this valley ran the road to Washing- 
ton. Some of the enemy stopped at that road, turned, 
and fired at us. It was just here that Porter Wren of 
F Company received his fatal wound. He turned and 
managed to walk back to the fence, tried to get over it, 
but fell back — dead ! Immediately on the brow of the 
hill I passed a Yankee colonel, laying on the ground 
dead. 

This was the most exciting time I witnessed during 
the war. The men were perfectly wild when they came 
in sight of the enemy's column, knowing as they did, 
that the first line that fired would have the advantage 
of the other. It was as much as Gen. Gordon could do 
to keep the head of the column from making an attack. 
Our division pursued the enemy a short distance, when 
the pursuit was taken up by Ramsuer's division, who 
had crossed the river on the railroad bridge, as soon as 
w^e cleared the w^ay. It was about sunset now, and my 
brigade went into camp in an orchard near the road, — 



240 ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

oil the same ground over which we chased the enemy a 
few minutes before. In this orchard were several of 
the enemy, wounded. One of them asked me for some 
water, and stated he had had a canteen but one of our 
men had taken it from him. Poor fellow ! I went to 
a spring, filled a canteen and carried it to him, and as 
I had two canteens, gave him this one, and told him that 
in case some of our men wanted it, he must tell them 
what I had done for him, and I was sure none of our 
men would take it. I had a full haversack that I had 
taken from the body of a dead Yankee on the hill, and 
offered him something to eat, but he said he had his own 
haversack, and it was full. He seemed to be very grate- 
ful for my little attention. 

A mill pond was near us, and many of us took a bath, 
which refreshed us very much. I ate a good supper 
out of my Yankee haversack, and soon went to bed for 
the night. F Company liad H. C. Fox wounded, and 
J. Porter Wren killed. Early's loss was not large, and 
was confined principally to Gordon's division. Among 
the wounded was Brig.-Gen. Evans. We captured five 
or six hundred prisoners, and Gen. Early sent us word 
to take no more, as he did not know what to do with 
them. The tables were completely turned on Gordon's 
division. We thought we would Tcitncss the battle, but 
our little army saw our division of 2,300 men whip Wal- 
lace's force of 10,000, 

The road to Washington was now open, and we has- 
tened the next day as fast as men could travel. 

Gen. Breckcnridge, who commanded his own and 
Gordon's division during this campaign, said to Gen. 
Gordon about this battle, " Gordon, if you had never 
made a fight before, this ought to immortalize you." 



XXVIII 



WASHINGTON 



On the morning of July loth we marched early, pass- 
ing through Urbanna, Hyattstown, and Clarksburg, 
going into camp about sunset, having marched twenty 
odd miles. The day was a terribly hot one and the men 
straggled a great deal, although it was reported that the 
enemy's cavalry we left at Harper's Ferry were follow- 
ing us, and picking up all they could reach from our 
stragglers. 

^^^e were up and moving early the next morning, 
passing through Rockville, Maryland, and at two or 
three p. m. the head of Gordon's division passed the toll 
gate about four or five miles from Washington. We 
inquired what road we were on, and were informed that 
it was the Seventh Street pike. The enemy were shell- 
ing the road at this point with their big guns. We soon 
came in sight of the Soldiers' Home, where the enemy 
had a signal station, and we were really at Washington 
City. We could see their fortifications and the men 
marching into them on each side of the road on which 
we were. Their dress induced us to think they were 
the town or city forces, some of them looking as if they 
had on linen dusters, and there being none in regular 
uniform. 

Probably the day was hotter than the preceding, and 
we had been marching faster too. Consequently there 
was more straggling. Our division was stretched out 

241 



242 ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

almost like skirmishers, and all the men did not get up 
until night. Rodes' division was in front. He had 
formed a line of battle and sent forward his skirmishers, 
who had driven the enemy into their fortifications. Our 
division stacked arms on the side of the road, the men 
broke ranks and looked around. A house between the 
two lines was burning. I went to Silver Springs, the 
country home of ]\Ir. Blair, one of Lincoln's cabinet, 
and got water, and examined the place. It was a splen- 
did home. When I came back I went to the front and 
looked out on the situation. As far as my eye could 
reach to the right and left there were fortifications, and 
the most formidable looking I ever saw ! In their front 
the trees had been cut down so that the limbs pointed 
towards us and they were sharpened. About midway 
of the clearing was a creek that seemed to run near the 
fortifications and parallel with them. The enemy had 
a full sweep of the ground for at least a mile in their 
front, and if their works were well manned, our force 
would not be able to take them, since, as I suppose. Gen. 
Early's entire command did not number lo.ooo. Night 
came on and found us occupying the same positi(^n. 
The next morning Gordon's division marched to the 
front, formed line of battle, advanced to the Qilgc of 
the wood and lay down, while our skirmish line was sent 
forward to the creek. We remained in our position all 
day. The enemy were shelling us at intervals, and in 
the afternoon they sent forward their skirmishers with 
a large force following them. They made an attack 
on Rodes' front. He repulsed them and drove them 
back into their works. At nii^ht we left \\'ashingt(Mi, 
and retraced our steps on the road as far as Rockville. 
There we took a road to the left, marched all night, and 






ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 243 

stopped about midday for several hours' rest near 
Darnestown, then resumed the march and continued it 
all night, passing Poolville and crossing the Potomac 
the next day at White's Ford, going into camp near 
Leesburg. 

Thirty-one days had passed since we left Lee's army 
at Richmond. We had marched during that time four 
hundred and sixty-nine miles, fought several combats, 
one battle, and threatened Washington, causing the big- 
gest scare they ever had. It was believed by the men 
that we could have gone into the city on the evening of 
the nth, if our men had been up, but straggling pre- 
vented it. I can not say that they straggled without 
excuse, because as I before said, many of them were 
barefooted and footsore, and we had made a terrible 
campaign since we left our winter quarters on the 2d 
of May. I was still barefooted, my feet being too sore 
to wear my boots. The scars made on that march are 
on my feet to this day. Many men, like myself, 
marched right along without shoes, but many of them 
were physically unable to keep up. 

It is said that the enemy concentrated over 'sixty 
thousand soldiers at Washington while we were threat- 
ening the city ; this force pursued us to the Potomac, but 
did us little injury. 

The next day, the 15th, the 21st Va. Regt. was de- 
tailed to take charge of a lot of horses that had broken 
down on the way, others having been captured and put 
into their places. We immediately converted ourselves 
into a regiment of mounted infantry, the most motley ever 
seen. Some of the men secured saddles, some bags and 
filled them with straw, some used their blankets to ride on ; 
some horses had bridles, some ropes, some grape vines 



244 ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

for bridles, and some ridden without any form of bridles. 
As soon as we were mounted, we took up the march, 
driving the loose horses. We passed through Union 
and Upperville, stopping about sunset to let our horses 
graze, the only food they had. After several hours of 
rest, we again mounted and continued the march, pass- 
ing through the Blue Ridge into the valley at Paris, 
marching all night. We sto])ped the next morning near 
Millwood, Clarke County, and turned our horses loose 
to graze, having marched about thirty-three miles. 
We were the most completely used up men you ever 
saw, — foot cavalry could not be converted at once into 
mounted men, as we found out to our cost, — and when 
the order to mount was given about midday, we were 
so sore and disabled that nearly all the men needed as- 
sistance in mounting. We left this place and marched 
to Middletown, on the valley pike, stopping several times 
to graze our horses. On the morning of the 19th, we 
turned our horses over to a quartermaster and marched 
to W^inchester, where we joined our division. 

The next day the army marched up the valley. 
Reaching Middletown, Gordon's division was sent out 
in the direction of Berryville, it having been reported 
that the enemy were advancing in that direction, and. 
after s(^me brisk skirmishing, w'e drove iIkmii liack. 
That night we marched to 1 hipp's Hill. The next day 
the army formcrl a line of battle and awaited an attack 
from the enemy. Ihey came in sight of us, fired a few 
cannon and had .some skirmishing. Their army was 
now under the command of Clen. Crook and ( len. Averill 
was the ofticer in command of his cavalry. 



XXIX 

KERNSTOWN THE SECOND, AND THE ENEMY's CAVALRY 

AT LEETOWN 

The enemy having left our front at Hupp's Hill, we, 
on the morning of 24th July, marched clown the valley. 
When we reached Barton's Mill we learned that the 
enemy had made a stand at Kernstown. Gen. Early 
immediately made preparations to attack them. The 
Second Brigade was deployed as skirmishers, and was 
posted on the left of the Valley Pike, its right resting 
on the pike. The rest of Gordon's division was formed 
on the right of the pike, with the remainder of Breck- 
enbridge's command. The Second Brigade, in skirmish 
line, was ordered forward. In our front there was an 
open field almost level up to the enemy's line of battle. 
There the country became gently rolling and on the 
hills they had stationed their artillery. The fields were 
separated by stone fences, several of them running across 
our front, and were occupied by the enemy. Soon after 
we began to advance, we came in sight of the hill that 
was occupied by a battery which fired at our regiment 
in March, 1862, when we crossed this same field. They 
sent shell after shell at us, and as soon as we were 
within range, the Yankees behind the first stone wall 
commenced to fire with their muskets. We were or- 
dered to lie down. From this point we could see a 
long line of the enemy on the right of the pike, and on 
their extreme left a body of cavalry. We saw also 
Breckenbridge advancing against their left. The 
Yankees in front of our brigade were shooting rapidly 

24s 



246 OXE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

at us, who were lying down in the field, and our men 
were becoming uneasy, since we had no opportunity to 
reply. They, stooping down behind the wall, loaded, 
rose, and fired and lay down before we could locate 
them. Our men sent a message along the line, '* Let's 
take the wall! " The answer came back. " All right! " 
We were up in a second, and at the wall in a few more 
seconds, the enemy retreating to the next wall. This 
was not very far from us, and our men were mounting 
the wall already taken, some were over, for we were 
going to take the next wall. An officer came from 
Gen. Early with an order for us to halt, retrace our 
steps, and lie down in the field again. Our brigade 
commander, Col. Dungan of the 48th Va. Regt., told 
him that he did not give the order to advance, but he 
saw no reason to stop it after the men had started. 
** Well, you must stop them now," said the ofiicer. 
Col. Dungan gave the order to halt, but it was obeyed 
very reluctantly, the men standing where they were, the 
Yankees shooting at them all the time. Our ofticer from 
Gen. Early, Major Mann Page, an old F, could not 
stand this ; he was very impetuous and called to the men 
to return, but could not induce them to do so. They 
cried out, " Let's drive them away from the wall! " and 
away we went, leaving the major stamping with rage. 
We took the second wall in about the same time it takes 
to tell it, driving a line of battle from it. By this time 
Breckenridge had struck their left, and their whole line 
was in rapid retreat, and as those on their left made 
for the valley pike, nearly all of them ])assed us; we 
loaded and fired into their ranks as fast as we could, 
some of our men in their excitement sitting on the stone 
wall loading and firing fnjin it. The retreating column 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 247 

of the enemy seemed to be so intent on getting away, 
that they gave no attention to our small line on the wall. 
As soon as all of them passed us, over the wall we went 
in close pursuit. They went through the village of 
Kernstown, keeping the pike until they reached the old 
stone church and burial ground, turning to the left be- 
tween them, going direct to the hills around Winchester. 
The first fire we received from them in their retreat was 
from a fence just beyond the old church. As we 
reached the church and turned around it towards the 
fence through which they went, a few skirmishers of 
theirs along this fence fired on us. Sergeant Griever 
of the 48th, who was carrying the flag, was shot dead 
at my side, and one or two more were wounded. They 
had no time for a second fire, as we were upon them. 
The field was filled from this fence to another about a 
quarter of a mile off with fleeing Yankees, and beyond 
the second fence, I could see them making their way 
over the hill. In order to help their men in the field, 
some of them were firing at us from the farther fence. 
An officer on a white horse seemed to be directing them ; 
some of us paid our respects to him, the balance shooting 
into the mass of the enemy in the field. Before we were 
half way across the field, their fire ceased and they and 
the officer on the white horse disappeared over the hill 
When we reached the hill we w^ere so tired that we 
could run no longer, but we continued the pursuit, fol- 
lowing the trail, and only came in sight of the enemy 
as they went up the hill just behind Winchester, On 
that hill they had one piece of artillery, which fired at 
us once, then limbered up and joined in the retreat. 
We continued the pursuit until sunset, when we halted, 
stacked arms, and soon lay down to rest for the night, 



248 OXE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

Rodes' division keeping up the pursuit into the niglit. 

This was the most easily won battle of the war. We 
had very few casualties. We could trace the line of 
the enemy's retreat to the hills by their dead and 
wounded, a loss inflicted on them mostly by the skir- 
mishers of the Second Brigade. We were in the ad- 
vance until we were stopped, and stacked arms, and we 
were within one hundred yards of the enemy until they 
reached the hill. 

The next day we followed the retreating enemy, and 
Cordon's Division went into camp at lUmker Hill. 
The next day we marched to Martinsburg and remained 
in the neighborhood until the 31st, tearing up the B. 
& O. Railroad for miles. This is the fourth time I 
took part in the ruin of this railroad. We left Martins- 
burg and marched to Darksville, remaining until August 
4th, when we moved to the Potomac and crossed at 
Shepherdstown on the 5th, marching to Sharpsburg, 
passing a few miles beyond and into camp for the night. 

How soon the scars of war are removed when they 
are made in a country thai is kci)t in a state of cultiva- 
tion and improvement! We couUl see very little of tlie 
great battle of Sharpsburg, and when we passed the 
Tunker or Dunkard church everything looked so nice 
and clean that one would not know that it was the scene 
two years before of the most severe fighting of the 
war! The battle of Jackson's Corps and McClellan's 
right was at its fiercest around this church. Fines were 
driven back and forward, around and around the old 
church, hundreds of musket balls struck it, and several 
cannon shots went through it. Dead and dying men 
were lying in sight of it by thousands. 

The next day, the Gth, we marched, passing through 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 249 

Tillmantown and crossing the Potomac at Williamsport, 
and camped at Falling Waters. Thence we marched to 
Darksville, Bunker Hill, and the Woolen Mill, not far 
from Winchester, camping for the night at each place. 
At the latter place we arrived in the afternoon. My 
brigade had stacked arms, broken ranks, and taken off 
our accouterments, when the long roll was heard. We 
were ordered to " fall in," and marched some distance 
to repel an advance of the enemy's cavalry. On the 
nth Gordon's Division was at Newtown skirmishing on 
the White Post road with the enemy. There W. H. 
Divers of F Company received a terrible wound through 
the leg, and died two days afterwards. From New- 
town we marched to Strasburg, where our army formed 
a line of battle and waited an attack from the enemy. 
Thence we moved to Fisher's Hill, staying there until 
the 17th, when we marched to Winchester. There we 
found the enemy in line of battle awaiting us. We 
made preparation for an immediate attack. Gordon's 
Division was formed in line of battle on the right of the 
pike, divided into three sections; our skirmishers were 
ordered forward, and the right section soon followed. 
As soon as they advanced their length ahead of the mid- 
dle section, the middle section advanced, and so with 
the third, our line advancing in echelon. The Second 
Brigade was on the left of the line and was the third or 
last section; we continued to advance in this way for a 
mile. Our skirmishers encountered the enemy in our 
front, who gave way at once. Our brigade was shelled 
heavily from a battery posted on a hill towards our left. 
We came to a corn field and, as we passed through it, 
I took a well-filled haversack from one of the dead 
Yankees, swung it round my neck, and continued my 



250 ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

niarcli. Looking in it I found it filled with roasting 
ears, that had just been boiled, and hot. I commenced 
to eat at once, giving my comrades some. Passing 
through the corn field we right- faced and joined the 
division, which was now marching by the flank. The 
skirmishers were so far off that we decided the enemy 
preferred a retreat to a hght. Night soon came on, 
we stacked arms and bivouacked. 

The next day, i8th, Maj.-Gen. Anderson joined us 
with a division of infantry, his artillery, and cavalry. 
On the 19th we marched to Bunker Hill, the next day 
towards Charlestown. encountering the enemy's cavalry 
in force, and finally coming up with his army well forti- 
fied near Charlestown. Skirmishers were thrown for- 
ward and were heavily engaged all day. The enemy 
left during the night, and when morning came and we 
ascertained they had left, we were off at once in pursuit, 
Cordon's Division passing through their fortifications. 
1licy were the best hurriedly thrown up works 1 saw 
during the war. About one hundred yards in their 
front, rails from the adjacent fences had been placed 
in the ground about six inches apart, leaning to the 
front. They were about waist high with their ends 
sharpened. When we reached them in our march, wc 
found it a heavy task to remove enough of them for 
the division to jxiss through. W'e found the enemy in 
position at lialllown, and again fortified. It was re- 
ported to Gen. Early that a fine lot of hogs were in a 
field on their right, inside their skirmish line. Tiordon's 
Division was immediately sent for the hogs, which we 
soon took possession of and that night all had fresh pork 
for supper. \\'^e remained in the enemy's front until 
the morning of the 25th, when Gordon's Division, with 
some of the other divisions, marched towards Leetown. 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 251 

Gen. Early accompanied us and left Gen. Anderson in 
command of the force in front of the enemy. Soon 
after passing Leetown our division, which was in front, 
came in contact with the enemy's cavalry. A long line 
of skirmishers was thrown forward on each side of the 
road, our division formed in line of battle, and all were 
ordered forward. Soon the skirmishers became en- 
gaged and, as they advanced, fighting became heavy ; but 
they drove the enemy at all points. The enemy's cav- 
alry made a charge on the left of the road in a large 
field, and succeeded in capturing a few of our men, but 
they were hurriedly driven back. The line of battle 
was halted occasionally to allow the skirmishers to clear 
the way. During one of these halts, we stacked arms 
and were ordered to lie down near our guns. A Yankee 
battery on our right occasionally sent a shot at us. One 
of these, a round shot, struck the ground near my front, 
ricocheted, and came directly towards us. Every one 
in the locality was watching it, and it became evident 
that it would strike a stack of muskets just to my right, 
in its second descent. Then it was seen that as it was 
an oblique shot, it might strike two stacks. The guns 
were loaded, and fearing that some of our line might be 
injured by the firing of the guns should they be struck, 
the men who owned both stacks jumped to them to take 
arms, and get away before the shot struck. In the hurry 
and confusion they became mixed, the shot fell in their 
midst, — men, guns, shot, and all went down together. 
In a few seconds the men were on their feet, hurrahing 
and laughing, and one man held up the shot, neither men 
nor guns having been injured, — but it was a close shave. 
These men laughed and jested at death, as all old sol- 
diers do. Constant exposure to danger hardened the 
best of them. We resumed the advance for a short 



252 ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

distance ; the enemy seemed U) have had enough and to 
have withdrawn. Onr skirmishers were called in, and 
my division resumed its march by the flank in the road. 
We went along quietly. Gen. Early and some other 
officers riding at the head of the column. Someone 
now approached Gen. Early, and soon he left the pike 
by a country road on our right and rode to the top of 
a hill. Then he turned and beckoned to the officer who 
was riding in our front, and he turned into this road. 
We followed a short distance, the column halted, and 
it was rumored that the enemy were just over the hill in 
our front. I ran to the top of the hill, and found that 
it fell on the opposite side about as suddenly as it rose 
on our side. It was a ridge, at the foot of which on 
the other side there was a corn field extending to another 
pike, which ran at nearly right angles to the one on 
which we had been marching and joined it about a mile 
away. In this ])ike there was a Yankee column of cav- 
alry marching along quietly, seeming to be ignorant of 
the proximity oi a Confederate. They were about four 
hundred yards from us. I do not know how it affected 
Gen. Early, but it was the most thrilhng scene I ever 
saw, and gave me the " shakes " at once. I was ordered 
to run down the pike as fast as I could until 1 met some 
of the skirmishers, and give the officer in command an 
order to come to the front as fast as possible. I has- 
tened away and soon met Capt. Mays' command, deliv- 
ered the order, and described the situation to him. Poor 
fellow! he and his men were so completely exhausted 
by skirmishing with the enemy's cavalry for two or three 
hours, that they could not double quick, but started off 
at a cjuick step. When they came to the front, they 
deployed in the corn field and advanced at once. Our 
line of battle was formed by regiments as fast as they 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 253 

conld enter the corn field, and each regiment was or- 
dered forward. The skirmishers were near the road 
before they were observed by the enemy, and poured a 
withering fire into them. The enemy attempted to reply 
to this, and when some of our regiments came into view, 
they broke and ran in every direction ! We cut their 
column in two, some of them going towards Shepherds- 
town and the others returned towards Harper's Ferry, 
whence they had come. Those who were returning to- 
wards Harper's Ferry ran out a battery, that shelled us 
for a few minutes, then limbered up and followed the 
crowd ; — a part of our division pursuing them, and a 
part pursuing those going towards Shepherdstown. 

When I came out of those two fights, I surely was 
the best equipped man in our army. I captured a horse 
with splendid equipments, even the poncho and blanket 
rolled up behind the saddle. Before the fight was over, 
I got a Colt's five-shooter, a sixteen-shot Winchester 
rifle, a saber, a nose bag for my horse and a bag of oats, 
also a canteen, six extra saddles, and a Yankee haver- 
sack filled with rations. 

About midnight, the division having come together, 
we went into camp, and heard that Fitz Lee had cap- 
tured the party that went towards Shepherdstown. All 
of us slept well on that news and a heavy day's work. 
In the morning we learned that the enemy had escaped 
from Fitz Lee, although he at one time had them in a 
tight place. August 27th found Gordon's Division at 
Bunker's Hill. 

On the 29th Gordon's Division was ordered to the 
front. We found the enemy's cavalry at Opequan 
Creek and attacked them at once, driving them about 
five miles; and returned to our camp. September 3d 
foimd Early's army in camp around Winchester. On 



254 OXE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

the /th the enemy drove in the pickets of our brigade. 
Gordon's Division ^vas ordered to their stipport, and 
drove the enemy back across the Opeqtian, which was 
the cHviding hne between the two armies. 

At this time I received the following communication, 
which explains itself: 

lid. Qrs. 2 1st \ii. Infantry, 
Sept. 1 2th, 1864. 
Speci.\l Order. 

No. 

Sergt. J. 11. Worsliam Co. ** F." is announced as Act. 
Adjt. of this Regt. from this date. 

By order Col. Moseley. 
E. E. England, Lt. & Act. Adjt. 

This made tliree adjutants the company has furnished 
the regiment. It has also furnished the regiment three 
sergeant-majors. 

Septeml)er 13th found Gordon's Division near Bruce- 
town, where our pickets had again been driven in by 
the enemy. The Second Brigade was ordered to their 
support, driving the enemy across the Opequan, the 21st 
Va. Regt. remaining on j)icket. On September 14th 
Gen. Anderson left us, taking his artillery and Ker- 
shaw's division of infantry with him. leaving Fitz Lee's 
cavalry with us. The 17th found Ciordon's and Rodes' 
division at l>unkcr's Hill. 

While in camj) at Darksvillc on August 2, 1864, I 
made my last morning rei)ort of the company as orderly 
sergeant, and herewith give a c^py of it. It was made 
on a piece of jiaper torn out of an old account book and 
the ruling and heading I did with pokeberries, accord- 
ing to the " I'orni " provided by the adjutant of (he 
regiment. 



I 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 255 
Morning Report of Company F. 

PRESENT 





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XXX 

WINCHESTER, 1864 

On the iSth of September. 1864, Gordon's Division 
left Bunker's Hill and marched to IMartinsburg. There 
we encountered some of the enemy's cavalry who skir- 
mished with us and retired, hring at long distance. We 
stopped at Martinslnirg a short time, and marching back 
to Bunker's Hill, encamped for the night. It had been 
rumored in our camp a week or two that Gen. Sheri- 
dan from Grant's army was in command of the enemy, 
and that he had been largely reinforced. Their force 
in the valley had all along been three or four times as 
large as Early's, and now since Sheridan was receiving 
more men, it must be five or six times as large. It was 
believed by us that Sheridan had more men in his cav- 
alry alone, than the number of Early's entire army. 
On the 19th we marched from Bunker Hill in the direc- 
tion of Wincliester, and in a short time we heard the 
boom of a cannon in our front. Some of our army had 
been engaged daily with the enemy for the last month, 
and considering this shot in our front to l^e a ])art of 
the daily attack, we paid little attention to it. We kept 
quietly on our way until we passed Stevenson's depot, 
when we saw a horseman ajiproaching us hurriedly. 
When lie rode up to Gen. Gordon in our front we recog- 
nized him as Col. Pendleton, Gen. h'arly's .Adjutant- 
General. He had a moment's talk with Gen. Gordon, 
wheeled his horse and rode off. We hurried uj) and 
our ranks closed. Soon we left the pike by our left and 

256 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 257 

marched across the fields. The firing in our front had 
become heavy and we heard the musketry. We decided 
that it was a general attack by Sheridan, but our men 
were not disturbed by it, because we knew we could 
whip Sheridan easily, notwithstanding the large odds we 
believed he had against us. We marched in the same 
direction a mile or more, and, coming in sight of a small 
body of cavalry, were told it was part of Fitz Lee's 
force, and towards our right we saw some of our artil- 
lery firing. We marched towards this artillery but in 
front of it. The fight was raging in our front, and in 
a wood on our left there was heavy skirmishing. We 
continued to march by the flank past this wood, the head 
of the column being nearly in front of our artillery. 
When we came to an open space between the woods just 
passed and another a little farther on, we saw our artil- 
lery firing through this opening at a line of battle of 
the enemy's, that was advancing through a field beyond 
the woods. Our column continued its march until it 
reached a line opposite the second woods, when we 
halted, were ordered to front face, and load. Our 
skirmishers formed along the whole front of the divi- 
sion, and were ordered forward. We followed them, 
our artillery firing over us at the advancing enemy. 
Terry's Brigade (ours) was on the right, the Louisian- 
ians next, and Evans on the left. We saw our skir- 
mishers in front engage the enemy, and from the in- 
creased firing in the woods on the left, we knew that 
they were at it, too. We continued to advance and soon 
met the enemy with a volley; they turned and ran, we 
pursuing. We kept up the pursuit for three-quarters of a 
mile, when we halted, and were ordered back. We had 
made a clean sweep, — not a Yankee could be seen in our 



258 ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

front. Falling back about half a mile, Terry's Brigade 
was ordered to form in line with Rodes' Division, — 
which arrived a little later than we, and had advanced 
on the enemy in their front and repulsed them as easily 
as we did. After we made the connection with his line, 
we lay down to rest. W'e had been in action only about 
an hour, and we thought we had gained an easy victory. 
Gen. Early said it was a grand sight to see those two 
divisions numbering a little over 5.000 muskets hurl back 
in utter disorder the immense body of the attacking 
force, consisting of the Sixth and Nineteenth Corps! 

\\'c heard that Gen. Rodes had been killed, and was 
lying near Gordon's right. Our men were much grieved, 
because Rodes had been associated with us so long, and 
Gordon's men had become very much attached to him. 
He was a gallant soldier and splendid fighter, and we 
lost a great man in his fall. The loss in Gordon's divi- 
sion at this time was very small; Brig.-Gen. York, of 
the Louisiana Brigade, was wounded, and Gen. Terry 
had his horse killed under him. Through an opening in 
the woods on our right, we saw Ramsuer on the extreme 
right of Early's line, still heavily engaged, but gaining 
ground. Along Gordon's and Rodes' front not a sound 
was heard and not an enemy was in sight, but the still- 
ness was soon broken by the advance of a brigade of the 
enemy through a field on our left, towards the woods. 
Evans' Brigade was in those woods, the same that was 
occupied by the enemy in our attack on them, from 
which they were driven by Evans. This body of the 
enemy advanced in splendid line, — our brigade on their 
flank CDuld see down their entire line as they advanced 
on level ground. \\']icn they came within firing dis- 
tance, Evans let them have his fire; they halted at once; 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 259 

we saw the dead and wounded on the ground, and many 
wounded going to the rear. They advanced again, — 
their men under Evans' fire falHng as they advanced, — 
they entered the woods, we heard the heavy fighting 
there, and soon we saw the enemy hurriedly driven out, 
disappearing behind the hills. This ended the fighting 
of Gordon's Division at this part of the line. 

Far around on our left, on the valley pike, little fight- 
ing had taken place, as only a few^ of the enemy had 
made their appearance. Now they came, nearly the 
whole of Sheridan's cavalry, and it must be recalled that 
they were as many as Early's entire army. A corps of 
infantry accompanied them. They advanced up the 
valley pike and charged our weak force, consisting of 
a small cavalry force and a brigade of infantry from 
Wharton's Division. As stated by a northern writer, 
" Flell broke loose now!" Our cavalry and the small 
infantry force was soon driven back, but fought so stub- 
bornly that the Yankees made little progress. Our 
force was reinforced by Gen. Early as soon as possible. 
Now the hardest fighting of the day took place. Our 
men were flanked, new lines were formed to be flanked 
again, but our men stood to their work fighting every 
inch of the way. 

Orders now came for Gordon's Division to go to the 
assistance of the left; we retired through some bushes, 
then through a large open wood, into a field, — this field 
was immense and surrounded Winchester. We heard 
the heavy fighting on the left of our line as we went 
through the woods, and reaching the opening, saw the 
whole field in the direction of the valley pike filled with 
men fighting; saw that our men were being driven, and 
that parts of the Yankee cavalry had possession of some 



26o ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

of the hills which ovcrliioked the surrounding country. 
When wc reached ii large white house, the last outside 
of Winchester, Generals Early, Breckenridge, and Gor- 
d<»n came riding together from our right towards the 
left, and reaching our division they told the men they 
desired to make a stand there. The Major of the 21st 
Xci. Rcgt., tlie only field officer, not hcing in sight at the 
time, the Adjutant approached General Gordon and de- 
clared to him that our color-hearer would take his colors 
anywhere he might order them, and desired to know 
where he wished the line to be formed. His answer was 
" Right here." " Men, form on the colors of the 21st," 
was his command. Our color-l>earer, Cumbia, halted, 
faced towards the enemy, stepped out a few jiaces, 
stopped, and waved his Hag. The 21st Va. Regt. 
dressed on him, and the line grew each minute from 
other commands. Hie sharpshooters of the enemy then 
made their appearance, and a body of them took pos- 
session of the brick house and outbuildings about three 
or four hundred yards in our front, and opened fire on 
us at once. W^e then saw a line of battle of the enemy 
approaching, appearing to be a brigade. They advanced 
in splendid order, and when they came within about 
fcHir hundred yards of us, a colonel who was standing 
on my right and a short distance fn^m me, gave tlie 
order to fire. I ordered the 21st Va. Regt. to hold their 
fire, and turning to the colonel, asked that the enemy 
be allowed to come nearer. At this moment a shot 
wounded me in the knee. It did not hurt much, I had 
been struck a few minutes before on the shoulder by a 
spent ball, which hit hard enough to raise a knot, but 
did not break the skin. As the ball fell, I stooped down, 
took it up and put it into my pocket, thinking no more 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 261 

of it until I received this second shot which I thought 
was of the same character; but in a few mintues I be- 
came so sick that I was compelled to lie down. One of 
my comrades ran to me and asked if I was shot. I re- 
plied, " I don't think I am; it was a spent ball." By this 
time I was so sick that I thought my time to die had 
come, and as I looked at my knee, I saw the blood run- 
ning freely down my pants. The enemy on the hill had 
a battery on our flank, enfilading our line. Two of my 
comrades took me by my arms and carried me off the 
field. After going a short distance I begged to be al- 
lowed to lie down, thinking I would otherwise die. They 
would not listen to me while the cannons were plowing 
great gaps in the earth all around us, but they promised 
that as soon as they reached a large rock, which we were 
approaching, they would let me lie clown under its pro- 
tection. We soon reached it, and I lay at full length 
in hopes of getting some relief, but a cannon shot struck 
the rock, glanced, and went up out of sight. In an in- 
stant I was taken up by my comrades and carried on, 
and we reached the first house in Winchester, a small, 
one-story brick building at the corner of an alley. I 
was allowed to lie down behind this, and almost instantly 
a cannon shot went crashing through it, throwing pieces 
of brick and mortar on us. They had me going again 
at once. I met Richie Green, an old F, who was sorry 
he could not do anything for me. Soon after we met 
Ira Blunt, our hospital steward and also an old F. He, 
running to me, put a canteen to my lips and told me to 
take a good pull. I drank some new apple brandy; its 
effect was instantaneous. I felt perfectly well. Thank- 
ing him, I went on looking for our surgeon. I was 
then in Winchester, and as I turned the corner of the 



262 ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

next street, I saw our surgeon mounting his horse. I 
called him, he rode to meet me, and said he had sent 
all his stores to the rear, and had just mounted his horse 
to follow, but that he would get mc away if possible. 
All the ambulances he knew anything of had gone. Just 
at this moment an ambulance turned the corner into our 
street, and came towards us with the mules in a run. 
The surgeon ordered the driver to stop. For answer, 
he whipped his team into a faster gait. Our surgeon 
mounted his horse, and putting him into a run, overtook 
the ambulance and catching one of the mules, l)y main 
force, stopped it. I went forward and when I reached 
it, my two comrades pitched me in behind. The sur- 
geon let the mules go, and we were off ! The ambulance 
was filled with medical chests, and I tried to arrange 
them so as to make a comfortable seat, but could not. In 
the hinder part of the ambulance was a chest, and at its 
end was a bucket, the handle of the chest coming over 
the bucket in such a manner that the bucket could not 
be moved ; the other ])art of the ambulance was filled 
with chests piled one on top of the other, leaving only 
the chest in the rear for me to sit on. I managed to 
])ul the foot of my wounded leg in the bucket, and let 
my good leg hang out. By this time the ambulance 
caught u\) with the wagon train, moving u\) the valley 
pike two abreast. The enemy on the right of our line 
now (opened on our wagon train with one i)iece of artil- 
lery. The first shot they fired went t)ver the train a 
little in front of my ambulance, the next shot went 
through the lop of the wagon just in front of us. 
Amidst cracking of whips, yells, and oaths, the wagon 
train went in a hurry up the j)ike! In a few minutes 
they got behind the woods, and the firing from the ^'an- 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 263 

kee gun ceased. My ambulance driver became demoral- 
ized, wheeled his team to the right, and over the stone 
wall he went! How it was done I shall never know, 
but he did it, and through the field his flying mules went ! 
It was an old corn field, and the reader may know how 
comfortable I was! We went over several cross walls, 
and finally, along in the night, reached the pike again 
and continued our ride until about 8 o'clock the next 
morning, w^hen the ambulance was halted by a surgeon 
on the road side. The driver was told to take his mules 
out, water and feed them. I was so sore that I could 
hardly move, and asked the driver to help me down, but 
he positively refused ! I however got out, made my w^ay 
to a branch near by, got a drink of water, washed my 
face, came back to the ambulance, and breakfasted on 
articles in a Yankee haversack, which I took the day 
before from one of their dead. I will state here that 
the only rations I had after leaving Winchester until I 
arrived at Staunton, were out of that haversack, and 
since it was such a good friend, I carried it home ! While 
I was eating my breakfast, a surgeon came and asked 
the driver whom he had in his ambulance. I told him 
who I was and my command, and asked him to look 
at my wound and say if it needed anything. His in- 
human reply was, *' As you do not belong to my com- 
mand, you must get your own surgeon." After an hour 
or two of rest the team was hitched up, and I, fearing 
I might be left, took my old place in the ambulance, 
while the hitching was done. I prevailed on the driver 
just before we started, to pull off my boot, — it was full 
of blood and running over the top! Soon after it was 
pulled ofif, my wound seemed to stop bleeding, and I pro- 
ceeded more comfortably. We rode until four o'clock 



264 ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

in the afternoon, when we halted at a church in Wood- 
stock. Here the ladies brought to the wounded fruit, 
flowers, eatables, water and bandages, and made them- 
selves very useful to two or three hundred wounded. A 
surgeon cut open my pants and drawers, and examined 
my wound and dressed it, — ■ this was the first time it 
was seen even by myself. It had hurt me none to speak 
of. About sunset the wounded were put into wagons 
on a little straw and started up the pike. Riding all 
night, stopping a short time during the morning and then 
continuing until night, when we rested. We traveled 
thus until we reached Staunton, two days after we left 
Woodstock, where my wound was dressed the second 
time after I was shot. From Staunton, wt were, the 
next morning, carried to Charlottesville, where the ball 
was taken out. I write this lengthy narrative of myself, 
because it was the experience of hundreds in this battle! 

Returning to the account of the battle, our left being 
driven back, the new line which had been moved back 
occupied some slight breastworks. Here the enemy were 
checked, and as night approached Gen. Early's force re- 
tired up the valley. On reaching Fisher's Hill he took 
position, whence he was driven on the 22(1, with a con- 
siderable loss. Among the killed in that engagement 
was our old comrade, Col. A. S. Pendleton, Adjutant 
General of the Second Corps. He was one of the first 
officers appointed on Jackson's staff and had been with 
us since the commencement of the war; he was a gallant 
and splendid officer, l)eloved by all the old command. 

The battle of Winchester was as hotly contested as 
any of the war, and was a regular stand-up fight ; but we 
were so outnumbered that we ctnild not prevent the 
flanking by the enemy. 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 265 

I do not agree with the Northern writer alluded to 
before, who said : " Early was beaten before that battle 
commenced from the great disparity in numbers." He 
also said : '' When Early was driven, he left a track of 
blue killed and wounded in his rear." Our loss in the 
evening was heavy. Among the wounded was Maj.- 
Gen. Fitz Lee. 

In F Company, N. Dowdy, J. C. English and G. W. 
Houston were wounded. 

Here is an interesting incident about the battle of Win- 
chester taken from Gen. Phil Sheridan's autobiography: 

'' Gen. Sheridan, wanting to know something as to 
Early's army, learned of an old colored man, who had 
a permit from the Confederate commander to go into 
Winchester and return three times a week for the pur- 
pose of selling vegetables to the inhabitants. The scouts 
sounded the man, and finding him both loyal and shrewd, 
suggested that he might be made useful to us within the 
enemy's lines ; and the proposal struck me as feasible, 
provided there could be found in Winchester some relia- 
ble person who would be willing to cooperate and corres- 
pond with me. I asked Gen. Crook, and he recom- 
mended a Miss Rebecca Wright, a young lady whom he 
had met there before the battle of Kernstown, who he 
said was a member of the Society of Friends, and he 
thought she might be willing to render us assistance. I 
hesitated at first, but finally decided to try it. The negro 
was brought to his headquarters, given the letter, which 
was written on tissue paper, wrapped in tin foil so that 
it could be placed in the man's mouth, and instructed, if 
searched by the Confederate picket, to swallow it. Early 
next morning it was delivered to Miss Wright, the negro 



266 ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

telling her he would come back in the evening for an an- 
swer. The evening before a convalescent Confederate 
officer had visited her mother's house, and in conversa- 
tion about the war had disclosed the fact that Kershaw's 
division of infantry and Cutshaw's battalion of artillery 
had started to rejoin Gen. Lee. Miss Wright now per- 
ceived the value of the intelligence, and determined to 
send it at once." 

Here is a copy of Gen. Sheridan's letter, and ]Miss 
Wright's answer: 

" I learned from Major General Crook that you are a 
loyal lady, and still love the old flag. Can you inform me 
of the position of Early's forces, the number of divisions 
in his army, and the strength of any or all of them, and his 
probable or reported intentions? Have any more troops 
arrived from Richmond, or are any more coming, or re- 
ported to be coming? 

*' I am, very resi)cctfully, your most o1)edient servant, 
" P. II. Sheridan, Major General Commanding. 

"You can trust the bearer." 

" Septeml)er i6, 1864. 
" T liavc no comnuniicalion whatever with the rebels, but 
will tell you what I know. The division of Cjcncral Ker- 
shaw, and Cutshaw's artillery, twelve guns and men. Gen- 
eral Anderson commanding, have been sent away, and no 
more arc ex])c'Cte(l, as they cannot be spared from Rich- 
mond. I do not know how the troops arc situated, but the 
force is much smaller than reported. I will take ])leasure 
hereafter in learning all I can of their strength and posi- 
tion, and the Ijearer may call again. 

'* \'ery respectfully yours. 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 267 

The above letter from Miss Wright is not signed in 
Gen. Sheridan's book. 

I thought while writing this I would see if I could 
find the negro, too. So wrote to Major Saml. J. C. 
Moore of Berryville, Va., an officer on Gen. Early's 
staff, asking him if he could give me the name of the 
negro who carried the letter. Here is his answer: 

*' In 1869 I employed a negro man as gardener, whose 
name was Tom Laws. I had heard something about 
his being the man who was the bearer of the letter, and 
I broached the subject to him. At first he was not in- 
clined to talk about it, but upon my assuring him that 
I would not harm him, I got him to talk freely about 
it. On the 17th of September, 1864, he went to Win- 
chester to see some relations he had there. Miss Re- 
becca Wright, having heard he was in town, sought him 
and told him to come to her house before he left. He 
went there, when she asked him when he was going 
home, he told her he was ready to start at once. She 
then said she wanted him to carry a letter to Gen. Sher- 
idan, and taking a small piece of thin tissue paper, she 
wrote upon it, and then enveloped it in a small piece of 
tin foil, which she gave him, and charged him that he 
must not let the rebels get it, and if they caught him 
he must swallow it, that if they found it on his person 
they would kill him, and it might cost her her life. She 
directed him to give it to no one but Gen. Sheridan in 
person. He found the general and gave the note to him, 
who read it, and promised him he should be paid fifty 
dollars in money for bringing it, but he never got the 
money." 

Gen. Sheridan said this information caused him to 



268 OXE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

decide to attack Early the next morning, but having 
received a telegram from Gen. Grant, who said he was 
coming to see him that day, he determined to defer it. 
After his conference with Gen. Grant he decided to at- 
tack the next morning, and that letter brought on the 
battle of Winchester. 



XXXI 

RETURNS OF SECOND ARMY CORPS, A. N. VA., AUG. 3 1 

1864 

Returns of Second Army Corps, A. N. Va., Aug. 31, 
1864, and Organization of Early's Command in the Val- 
ley, Aug. 20, 1864. From War Records. They give 
the number of Early's infantry with the exception of 
one brigade of Wharton's division, and his artillery, but 
omit the cavalry and horse artillery. 

There was skirmishing daily with Sheridan, in which 
our cavalry, infantry and artillery participated. Losses 
were inevitable and reduced these figures by Sept. 19, 
when the battle of Winchester took place. 



269 



270 ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 



Returns of Second Corps A. N. Va., 
Aug. 31, 1864. Lieut. Cien. 
Jubal A. Early. 



Rodcs' Diz'isioH, Maj.-Gcn, R. E. 
Rodes 
Battle's Brigade, Brig.-(ien. C. .\. Battle 
(Jrimes' Brigade, Brig.-(ien. B. flriines 
Codk's Briga<ie, P>rig.-rien. P. Cook.. 
Cox's Brigade, Brig. -Gen. VV. R. Cox. 

Total 

Gordon's Division, Maj.-Gcn. J. B. 

Gordon 

Terry's Brigade, Brij^.-den. W. Terrv. 

York's Briga<lc, Brig. -Gen. Z. York. 

Evans' Brigade, Col. E. N. Atkinson. 

Total 

Early's Division, Maj.-Gcn. S. D. 

Riimsucr 

Pegram's Brigade, Brig.-Gen. J no. 

Pegram 

Johnston's Brigade, Brig.-Gen. R. D. 

Johnston 

Goodwin's Brigade,. Brig-Gen. A. C. 
Goodwin 

Total 

Artillcrv — Nelson 

Braxton's Battalion, Lt. Col. C. M. 
Braxton 

Nelson's Battalion, Capt. T. J. Kirk- 
patrick 

McLaughlin's Battalion, Maj. VV. Mc- 
Laughlin 

Total 

Grand Total 

Wharton's Division 

Wharton's Brigade 

Echol's Brif^adc 

Smith's Brigade 



Aggregate 
Present 
for Duty. 


« 
bo 

u 

u 

tl) 

< 


.Aggregate 
Present & 
Absent. 


Present Ef- 
fective for 
the Field. 


951 
883 
674 
797 


I 163 

1091 

883 

973 


3252 
3293 
2421 
4052 


95« 
832 
599 
679 

3061 

783 

658 

1210 


3305 

864 

658 

1311 


41 10 

987 

813 

1526 


i3.o'8 

6485 
3507 
4204 


2833 

621 

6i8 
806 


3326 

851 
774 
935 


14,196 

2325 
2401 
2270 


2651 

599 
598 
775 


•2045 

243 
275 
262 


2560 

284 

3'4 
3>6 


6996 

380 
459 
454 


1972 

280 
275 
247 


780 
8963 

638 
503 


914 


«293 


802 


109 10 


35503 


8486 





It will he seen from the above that the renort of Wharton's Division is 
only partial, atul there is no Report of Cavalry. Sheridan's force at same 
timr was 56,958. 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 271 



ORGANIZATION OF EARLY's COMMAND IN THE VALLEY AUG. 20, 1864. 

RODES' DIVISION 
Maj.-Gen. Robert E. Rodes 



Battle's Brigade 
Brig.-Gen. Cullen A. Battle. 
Lt. Col. E. LaF. Hobson. 

3d Alabama, . 

5th Alabama, Lt. Col. E. LaF. 
Hobson. 

6th Alabama, . 

I2th Alabama, Capt. P. D. Ross. 
61 St Alabama, Maj. E. Pinhard. 

Grimes' Brigade 
Brig.-Gen. Bryan "I 

Grimes. I Col. David 

32nd North Carolina, f G. Cowand 
53rd North Carolina. J 



Battalion. 
2d North Carolina. 
42d North Carolina. 
45th North Carolina. 



.Col. J. R. 
Winston 



Cook's Brigade 
Brig.-Gen. Philip Cook. 
4th Georgia, Lt. Col. Wm. H. 

Willis. 
I2th Georgia, Capt. Jas. Everett. 
2ist Georgia, Capt. Henry T. 

Battle. 
24th Georgia, Lt. Col. Jas. W. 
Beck. 

Cox's Brigade 
Brig.-Gen. William R. Cox. 
1st North Carolina, Capt. Wm. 
H'. Thomson. 

2d North Carolina, . 

3d North Carolina, Capt. Wm. 
H. Thomson. 

4th North Carolina, . 

14th North Carolina, Capt. Jos. 

Jones. 
30th North Carolina, Capt. Jno. 
C. McMillan. 



RAMSUER'S DIVISION 
Maj.-Gen. Stephen D. Ramsuer 



Pe grants Brigade 

Brig.-Gen. Jno. Pegram. 

13th Virginia, Capt. Felix Hei- 
shell. 

31st Virginia, Lt. Col. J. S. K. 
McCutchen. 

49th Virginia, Capt. Jno. G. Lob- 
ban. 

S2d Virginia, Capt. Jno. M. 
Humphreys. 



58th Virginia, Capt. Leroy C. 

James. 

Johnston's Brigade 
Brig.-Gen. Robert D. Johnston. 

5th North Carolina, 

I2th North Carolina, . 

20th North Carolina, Col. Thos. 

F. Toon. 

23d North Carolina, . 

1st North Carolina Battalion, 

Capt. R. E. Wilson. 



Goodwin's Brigade 

Brig.-Gen., A. C. Goodwin. 

6th North Carolina, 

2ist North Carolina, 

S4th North Carolina, 

57th North Carolina, 



2-^2 ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 



GORDON'S DIVISION 
Maj.-Gen. John B. Gordon 



Evans Brigade 

Brig. Gen. Clement A. Evans. 

Col. Edmund N, Atkinson. 

13th Georgia, Col. J. H. Baker. 

26th Georgia, Lt. Col. J. S. Bain. 

31st Georgia, Col. Jno. H. Lowe. 

38th Georgia, Maj. Thos. H. 
Bomer. 

60th Georgia, Capt. Milton Rus- 
sell. 

6ist Georgia, Capt. Eiiphalet F. 
Shaw. 

I2th Georgia Battalion, Capt. Jas. 
W. Anderson. 



York's Brigade 
Brig.-Gen. Zebulon York 

5th Louisiana, 

6th Louisiana, 

/th Louisiana, 



1st Louisiana, - 
14th Louisiana, 
2d Louisiana, - 
loth Louisiana, 
15th Louisiana, 



Hay's old 
Brigade. 



Sitafford's 

old 
Brigade. 



Terry's Brigade 



2d Virginia, ■ 

4th Virginia, 

5th Virginia, 

27th Virginia - 

33d Virgina,- 

2ist Virginia, - 
25th Virginia, ■ 
42d Virginia, - 
44th Virginia. ■ 
48th Virginia, - 
50tli Virginia, ■ 

loth Virginia, • 
23d Virginia, - 
37th Virginia,- 



Wharton's 
45th Virginia, — 
50th Virginia, — 
51st Virginia, 



30th Virginia Battalion, 



Col. John 
II. S. Funk. 
Old Stone- 
wall Brig- 
ade. 

Col. Robt. 
ir. Dungan. 
Old Second 
Brigade. 

Lt. Col. 
Samuel H. 
Saiuidcrs. 
Old Third 

Brigade. 



WHARTON'S DIVISION 

BRifi -Gex. Gabriel C. Whartdn 

Brigade ^ Echols' Brigade 

22d Virginia, . 

23d Virginia Battalion, 
20th Virginia Battalion, 



I 



I 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 273 

Smith's Brigade 

Col. Thomas Smith 

36th Virginia, . 

60th Virginia, Capt. Albert A. P. George. 
45th Virginia, Battalion, Capt. W. B. Hensly. 
Thomas Legion, Col. James R. Love, Jr. 



ARTILLERY 



Braxton's Battalion 
Virginia Battery, Carpenters. 
Virginia Battery Hardwicke. 
Virginia Battery, Cooper. 

Ciitshaw's Battalion 
Virginia Battery, Carringtons. 
Virginia Battery, Tanner. 
Virginia Battery, Garber. 



King's Battalion 
Virginia Battery, Bryan. 
Virginia Battery, Chapman. 
Virginia Battery, Lowry. 

Nelson's Battalion 
Georgia Battery, Milledge. 
Virginia Battery, Kirkpatrick. 
Virginia Battery, Massie. 



CAVALRY 



Maj.-Gen. 
Imhoden's Brigade 



i8th Virginia, ■ 

23d Virginia, . 

62d Virginia, . 

McCausland's Brigade 

14th Virginia, . 

i6th Virginia, . 

17th Virginia, . 

25th Virginia, — — . 

37th Virginia Battalion, 



L. L. LoMAX 

Bradley T. Johnson's Brigade 

8th Virginia, . 

21 st Virginia, . 

22d Virginia, . 

34th Virginia, . 

36th Virginia, . 

Jackson's Brigade 

2d Maryland, . 

19th Virginia, — — . 

20th Virginia, . 

46th Virginia, . 

47th Virginia, . 



HORSE ARTILLERY 



Maryland Battery, Grippin. 
Virginia Battery, Jackson. 



Virginia Battery, Lurty. 
Virginia Batter}', McClanahan. 



Lt. Gen. Anderson's forces, consisting of the follow- 
ing, were in Culpeper Co. and joined Early on the 17th 
Aug., staying with Early until the 14th Sept., when they 
returned to Culpeper with Kershaw's division and the 
artillery, leaving Fitz Lee's Cavalry with Early. Ker- 
shaw's division and the artillery again joined Early on 



274 OXE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 



Sept. 26tli. and parlicipatcd in the battle of Cedar Creek 
Oct. 19, 1864. 

Rosser's Brigade of cavalry joined Early on Oct. 5, 
'64, coming by way of Lynchburg, and was not with 
Anderson in Cnlpcper. 

KERSHAW'S DIVISION 
Maj.-Gen. Joseph B. Kershaw 
Conner's Brigade 
Maj. James M. Goj^gin. 
2(1 Soutli Carolina, Maj. B. R. 

Clyburn. 
3d South Carolina, Maj. R. P. 
Todd. 

/th South Carolina, . 

8th South Carolina, . 

15th South Carolina, . 

20th South Carolina, Col. S. M. 
Boykin. 
3d South Carolina Battalion, 
Capt. B. A. Whitenor. 
Wofford's Brigade 
1 6th Georgia, . 



18th Georgia, 
24th Georgia, 



Alabama Battery, Reese. 
Virginia Battery, W. P 



3d Georgia Battalion, . 

Cohbs Georgia Legion, . 

Phillips Georgia Legion. . 

Uunif^lircys' Brigade 
Brig.-Gen. Benjamin G. Hum- 
phreys. 

13th Mississippi, . 

17th Mississippi, . 

i8th Mississippi, . 

2ist Mississippi, . 

Brya)i's Brigade 

Col. James P. Simms. 

I oth Georgia, Col. W. C. Holt. 

50th Georgia, Col. P. McGlashan. 

51st Georgia, Col. Edward Ball. 

52d Georgia, . 



IVickham's Brigad 

1st Virginia, 

»2d Virginia, 

3d Virginia, 

4th Virginia, — 



ARTILLERY 
Carter's Battalion 

Virginia Battery, Pendleton. 
. Carter. Virginia Battery, Frys. 

CAVALRY 
Fife Lee's Division 



Rosser's Brigade 

7th Virginia, . 

nth Virginia, . 

I2ih Virginia, . 

35th Virginia Battalion, 

F^ayne's Brigade 

5th Virginia, . 

6th Virginia, . 

15th Virginia, . 

HORSE ARTILLERY 
Virginia battery, Johnston. 
Virginia battery, .Shoemaker. 
Virginia battery, Tliom.son. 



XXXII 

CEDAR CREEK AND WINTER 1 864-5 

The reader will want to know something of the old 
command after my leaving it. I can give some facts 
gathered from members of my company. 

After the battle of Fisher's Hill, Early retired up the 
valley to Mt. Jackson, — Sheridan following him slowly. 
On the 24th they marched about five miles beyond 
Tenth Legion, on the road to Port Republic, and the 
next day to Brown's Gap in the Blue Ridge mountain, 
where they were joined by Kershaw's division. On the 
27th they marched from Brown's Gap towards Harri- 
sonburg, and returned to Port Republic. There Gen. 
Early learned that Sheridan's cavalry had gone in the 
direction of Staunton. They marched to Waynesboro 
and Rockfish Tunnel to intercept the enemy in case they 
marched to those places. They found that the enemy 
had occupied Waynesboro a short time before, and they 
attacked at once and drove them back with some loss. 
Early camped in the neighborhood until Oct. ist, when 
he marched to Mt. Sidney on the valley pike and was 
joined by Rosser's brigade of cavalry on Oct. 5th. 
Early then marched down the valley to Fisher's Hill, 
which place he reached on the 13th. There he stayed 
until the night of the i8th, when he put his troops in 
motion to attack Sheridan, who was in a strongly forti- 
fied position along Cedar Creek. To Gordon was as- 
signed the duty of attacking the enemy in their rear on 
the left of their line. He moved down the Shenandoah 

275 



276 ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

river, fording it twice, and was in line at the designated 
place as the streaks of day appeared, and with a yell 
dashed upon the enemy! This was the signal for Early's 
line in front to move forward, which they did, and they 
swept everything before them, taking the fortifications, 
guns, and camp of the enemy. Sheridan's army was 
utterly routed with the exception of the Sixth Corps, 
which was encamped some distance in the rear. They 
formed a line and marched back with the fugitives un- 
til they reached Middletown, when they formed a line of 
battle requiring such of the fugitives as they could con- 
trol to join them. Our line that had been pursuing the 
enemy was so thin that it was not much more than a 
line of skirmishers! 

The world will never know the extreme poverty of the 
Confederate soldier at that time! Hundreds of the men 
who were in the charge and captured the enemy's works 
were barefooted, every one of them was ragged, many 
had nothing but what they had on. and none had eaten 
a sfpiare meal for weeks! Tn passing through Sheridan's 
cam]) they had a great temptation thrown in their way; 
many of the tents were open, and in plain sight were 
rations, shoes, overcoats and blankets! The fighting 
continued farther and farther, and some of the men 
stopped, secured well-filled haversacks, and as they in- 
vestigated their contents, the temptation to stop and 
eat was too great, as they had had nf)thing since the even- 
ing before, and they yielded. Others tried on shoes, 
others put on warm pants in place of the tattered ones, 
others got overcoats and blankets, articles so much 
needed for the cc^ming cold ! They had already experi- 
enced several biting frosts to remind them of the winter 
near at hand. In (his way half of Early's men were 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 277 

straggling, and this accounts for his thin line in front. 

This was an awful hour! Gen. Early then noticed 
the thinness of his line and being informed of its cause, 
sent officers back to hurry his men up. His advance line 
by this time had come up to the enemy in their position 
at Middletown. They attacked at once, but so feebly 
and were so easily repulsed, that the enemy felt embold- 
ened, made an advance and drove our men off the field 
of battle ! The stragglers who arrived were not in suffi- 
cient numbers to check the enemy's advance. The fight- 
ing continued until night put a stop to it. Gen. Early 
withdrew during the night to Fisher's Hill, but, owing 
to the breaking down of a bridge, most of the captured 
guns and between fifteen and twenty of our own were 
taken by the enemy. We lost about one thousand men 
taken prisoners, but brought off nineteen hundred of the 
enemy, whom we had captured. Our loss was heavy, 
and among the killed was that splendid soldier, Maj.- 
Gen. Ramsuer! 

F Company lost Sergeant R. M. Tabb, killed ; Corporal 
W. C. Tyree and L. M. Couch, wounded. That gallant 
young officer, Lieut. M. L. Hudgins, had command of a 
line of skirmishers and was shot through both legs, but 
succeeded in bringing off his command, and took to the 
mountains! Here he was captured a few days later 
and taken to Winchester, and from there sent to a 
Northern prison to stay until Mar. 30, 1865. I was told 
that old man Mason of the same company was quietly 
walking to the rear, w^hen a Yankee cavalryman rode up 
to him, and with uplifted saber, ordered the old man to 
halt. He looked over his shoulder, and, seeing who it 
was, threw up his gun and shot the Yankee off his horse ! 
The old fellow was, however, captured not long after! 



278 OXE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

Gen. Early fell back to New Market, but Sheridan 
did not follow him. Here Gen. Early stayed until Nov. 
loth. Learning that Sheridan had fallen back to Win- 
chester, he advanced to Newtown, and from there he 
fell back again to New Market, where in December, 
Gordon's, Ramsuer's and Rodes' divisions left him and 
went to Petersburg to join Gen. Lee. 

On our march down the valley we witnessed the van- 
dalism of the Yankee General Sheridan! All the barns 
and mills were in ruin, and it soon became evident that 
he intended carrying out his boast, " that when he was 
done with the valley a crow would have to carry his 
rations with him in order to get something to eat in go- 
ing across it." 

General Sheridan Reports to the Authorities from 

*' Woodstock, Oct. 7, 1864. 

*' I commenced to move back from Port Republic, 
Mt. Crawford, Bridgewater, and Harrisonburg yester- 
day morning. In moving back to this point the whole 
country from the Blue Ridge to the North Mountain 
has been made untenable for a rebel army. We have 
burned over 2,000 barns filled with wheat, hay and farm- 
ing implements, over 70 mills filled with flour and wheat, 
and have driven in front of the army over 4,000 head of 
sheep; have killed and issued to the troops not less than 
3,000 . . . and when we get to Winchester the en- 
tire valley to that point will be a Wilderness . 
Lieut. Jno. R. Meigs, my Engineer ofllcer, was mur- 
dered beyond Harrisonburg near Dayton. For this 
atrocious act all llie houses within an area of live miles 
were burned." . . . As a matter of fact Lieut. 

Meigs was killed in a figlil by Martin of the 

Black Horse cavalry. 



i 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 279 

''Newtown, Nov. 10." 

He reports " the return of a party which had been 
sent out for the purpose of bringing in a lot of stock, 
horses, sheep and cattle, and the grain, barns, subsistence, 
etc., as far as possible were destroyed "... 

Again, " Kernstown, Nov. ii." 

Another party returns, '' bringing back 300 cattle, a 
lot of sheep and horses, burned all the granaries, and 
destroyed all the provisions on the road." 

This wanton destruction of the property of the citizens 
of the valley, because they were Southern sympathizers, 
was uncalled for, and no excuse can ever justify it! 
This was a favored country, and to burn everything in 
the way of hay, grain, etc., barns and mills, not except- 
ing agricultural implements; to kill and drive off all the 
horses, stock, etc., belonging to those people because it 
would compel the Confederate army in the valley to haul 
those articles, was a crime without reason or excuse, 
especially when those citizens were not paid by the 
United States a cent for their loss. 

I think Gen. Early did everything a commander could 
do in the valley with the number of men he had in his 
command, and, as an humble member of that army, I 
would like to ask those who have criticized Gen. Early 
if they ever thought of the great disparity in numbers 
in the two armies? It is said that Sheridan's cavalry 
alone numbered as many if not more than Early's entire 
force, and I never heard Sheridan's infantry placed at 
less than thirty thousand. Gen. Early did not have more 
than twelve thousand men in his entire army at the battle 
of Winchester, — the first of his disasters. Let me recall 
the fact that Early was detached from Lee's army at 
Richmond, and sent to Lynchburg to intercept Hunter, 



28o OXE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

who was marching on that place with a large force. He 
disposed of Hunter in quick time, driving him beyond 
the Alleghany mountains. He was then ordered to 
threaten Washington City, which he promptly did. On 
his arrival before that place the ^'ankees concentrated 
a force over sixty thousand to repel him ! A large part 
of this force was taken from Grant's army at a time 
that greatly helped Lee at Petersburg. Early, by his 
activity, kept nearly all this force in his front until late 
in the year 1864. Gen. Early certainly accomplished 
all, if not more, than he was sent to the valley for. It 
is needless for me to say anything about Gen. Early's 
gallantry and fighting in the field. That is too well 
known. 

Since the opening of the campaign May 2, 1864, the 
Second Corps had marched over sixteen hundred miles 
and fought seventy-five battles and skirmishes in the 
majority of which F Company participated. The loss 
was heavy in officers and men as well as guns, but they 
inflicted a loss on the enemy in men and oflficers twice 
as large as the Second Corps numbered, and a great loss 
in stores, etc. 

On the arrival in Petersburg of the troops who left 
Early, Maj.-Gen. Gordon was made commander of the 
Second Corps, it was ordered to the front, and on the 
5th of Feb., 1865, had a hard battle with Grant at Hatch- 
er's Run. It was in this battle that the gallant Capt. 
Jordan of F Company distinguished himself. While 
the brigade was marching by the flank, through a dense 
pine wood, they were suddenly assailed by the enemy's 
sharj)shooters. This threw (nir men into confusion, 
and they fell back out of fire to reform the line. Jordan 
at once turned towards the enemy and succeeded in get- 




FIFTH CAPTAIN RICUBEX J. JORDAN 



Opposite Page 280. 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 281 

ting seven men to join him, — two from the 42d Va., two 
from the 25th Va., and three from the 21st Va. regi- 
ments, among the latter W. R. Richeson of F Company. 
Those men he hurriedly placed along the road to stop 
the advance of the enemy at that point. They rapidly 
approached and commanded Jordan and his little band 
to surrender; but for answer they received bullets, and 
when the smoke cleared up, one Yankee lay on the 
ground and the remainder were seeking safety! At 
this moment Gen. Gordon rode up and learned that the 
advance of the enemy had been stopped by Jordan and his 
few men. He complimented them on the spot, in that 
peculiar way of his, which bound those men to him for- 
ever, rode off to the brigade, made a speech and closed 
by telling them " that Capt. Jordan, by his bravery and 
coolness, had with only seven men stopped the advance 
of the enemy." He hurried them forward and the fight 
became general. After the battle when the troops had 
returned to camp, Gen. Gordon sent a messenger to Capt. 
Jordan, asking the names of the seven men, which he de- 
sired to be forwarded to his headquarters through the 
regular channels, as he wished to publish to the army 
their names as well as that of Captain Jordan for gallant 
and heroic conduct on the field of battle! This Jordan 
did, but the end came before the account of this battle 
was published — hence this incident is not know^n to the 
public. 

I would like to say a word about W. R. Richeson, an 
humble man from Caroline County, who joined us in 
1863, so infirm that he ought not to have been in the 
army, but in several battles he showed the mettle he was 
made of, and well deserved this recognition from Gen. 
Gordon 1 



282 OXE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

111 this battle W. Bates and A. D. Brown were 
wounded. On Mar. 25th Gordon made an attack on 
and captured Fort Steadman. There Capt. Jordan was 
wounded, Geo. Hutchie Rennie, J. A. Kidd and H. C. 
Fox were killed in the attack, and X. C. Dowdy captured, 
all of F Company. 

Here is what one of the old company says of this 
battle : *' On the night before the battle we were in 
camp, and quietly sleeping, when about midnight we were 
awakened and told to ' fall in ' as soon as possible. As 
soon as the line was formed we were marched off hur- 
riedly through the woods and fields, over ditches and 
fences, and finally formed a line of battle facing east. 
The streaks of day were just l)eginning to show them- 
selves, when we w^re turned loose, and we ran over two 
lines of the enemy's breastworks almost before I can 
tell about it. the troops on our right capturing at the 
same time the fort. We halted a short time after pass- 
ing the second line of breastworks, reformed lines and 
then were ordered forward again. Soon I was captured, 
and that is all I know of the battle." 

On the retreat from Petersburg, Gordon's command 
was the guard, and after leaving Amelia C. H. they 
were engaged every hour of the day and half of the 
night in repelling attacks by some body of the enemy. 
The har(lshii)s our men underwent in the retreat to Ap- 
pomattox were such that it seems impossible for men to 
go through them and live! They left Petersburg with- 
out rations, on roads full of mud from the recent rains, 
marched all night and nearly all the next day before stop- 
ping to rest! Gen. Lee had ordered a train of cars, 
loaded with rations to be at Amelia C. II. Depot on the 
Richmond and Danville railroad, and led his army there 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 283 

to get them. When they arrived, they learned that by 
the mismanagement of some officials, the train with ra- 
tions had gone on to Richmond, where it fell into the 
hands of the enemy! The men of his army had been 
eating parched corn and anything else they could get 
their hands on, with the hope of getting something on 
reaching Amelia C. H. When they learned that disap- 
pointment awaited them, they almost gave up, — but the 
old spirit soon came back to the army of Northern Vir- 
ginia, and they dragged themselves along the road on 
their way towards Lynchburg, where they knew rations 
could be gotten. Combats nearly every hour with some 
portion of Grant's force which were this time in ad- 
vance of our army as well as following close on our 
rear. They marched along this way until they neared 
Appomattox C. H., where they found a train of provi- 
sions on the Norfolk & Western railroad, awaiting them, 
— the first rations since they left Petersburg! 

The day before reaching Sailor's Creek, Gordon was 
ordered to take the front, and when he reached Appo- 
mattox C. H., Gen. Lee gave him an order to advance 
on the next morning, and if the enemy be encountered 
in numbers he must cut his way through them. When 
morning came and Gordon found the enemy in large 
numbers in his front, he formed his line, ordered them 
forward, and they made the attack with so much spirit 
that they succeeded in driving the Yankees and captured 
two pieces of artillery; and when Gordon sent Gen. Lee 
word that he ^' had fought his corps to a frazzle," those 
old fellows could be seen, and heard from too, in that 
frazzle! My brother, who was one of them, told me 
that at the time the white flag was raised by Gen. Lee, 
this same " frazzle " was driving the enemy in its front ! 



284 OXE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

You would like to know what became of the colors 
of the 2 1 St Va. Regt. After it was known positively that 
Gen. Lee was going to surrender, the gallant John II. 
Cunibia, who had carried the colors for such a long 
time, tore them from the staff — which was a short one, 
as it had been shot off by a cannon ball some months 
before — broke the staff and threw it away! Then he 
tore the flag into small pieces, giving to each man a piece. 
That was a great flag! It had inscribed upon it the 
names of all the battles from Kernstown on, in which 
Jackson's old division had been. Three cannon balls 
had been shot through it, and when I left it, in Septem- 
ber, 1864, over one hundred musket shots through it 
could be counted ! 



XXXIII 

THE EVACUATION OF RICHMOND AND LEE^S SURRENDER 

I WAS in Richmond confined to my bed with my wound 
when the city was evacuated. I cannot say that I saw or 
heard much of what went on outside of our house, as 
there was not a man on the place at the time except my- 
self, and the women were too much alarmed to go out! 
We heard many rumors Sunday afternoon. The first 
definite news was about midnight, when a soldier friend 
came by to bid us good-by, since he was going away 
with the soldiers who were then marching through the 
city. He stated that the President, his cabinet and other 
ofiicials of the government with the archives, etc., had 
left the city by the Danville railroad, and as soon as the 
troops crossed the river, the bridges would be burned! 
A member of the Legislature called soon after and told 
us good-by, and said that the members of the Legisla- 
ture were going to Lynchburg on the packet boat by the 
James river and Kanawha canal. This created a feel- 
ing of great uneasiness in our household. We well knew 
that the ever long wish of the enemy to get to Richmond 
would soon be gratified, and what would be the result? 
I dreaded the coming day, and listened to every noise 
I heard outside. Occasionally I would hear a report as 
if something was blown up, an arsenal, steamer, or some- 
thing of that kind. Not long before daybreak, a flash 
of light came into my room, brighter than the brightest 
lightning, accompanied immediately by a loud report with 
rumbling and shaking of the house, and a crash as if 

285 



286 ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

the front had fallen ! The ladies were in my room in an 
instant, and as soon as the outer door could be opened, 
the servants came in too! I explained to them the best 
I could, that it was the explosion of a large quantity of 
powder, probably one of the magazines. After they were 
quieted, one of them went into the front room to see 
if anything had been broken. She soon returned and 
stated that the sash of one of the windows had been 
blown into the middle of the room, and all the glass 
was broken! About sunrise on Monday, April 3, 1865, 
the ladies left my room, going to their rooms to dress 
for tlie clay, the servants going about their accustomed 
duties. When the ladies returned, they reported that a 
great fire was raging down town, and it looked as if the 
whole city would be burned ! Some friend now called 
and stated that the rear guard of our army had set fire 
to the Shockoe, the Public, the Myers & Anderson tobacco 
warehouses, the arsenals, magazines, etc. ! From those 
fires, adjacent buildings caught, and the greater part of 
the business portion of the city was in fiames, with no 
prospect of checking the fire! He also said that the 
city council and some of the prominent citizens had held 
a meeting and decided to destroy all liquor in the govern- 
ment buildings and large warehouses, and that it was 
taken out of those buildings into the streets and emptied 
into the nearest culverts; that hundreds of citizens were 
])illaging the stores which were burning and breaking 
into others and taking everything; and that the town was 
in the hands of a mob! 

About half-past seven my breakfast was brought me 
by a little negro boy eight to ten years old; he was de- 
voted to me and a great favorite of mine, as he was very 
cjuick and smart. He said to me, ** Marse Jolin, let me 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 287 

run down to the corner and see if I can see any of the 
Yankees." At that time he had a great horror of them. 
After some httle begging on his part, I let him go, he 
promising to return before his mistress would miss him. 
Before I finished my breakfast he returned, and on en- 
tering the room, he said, " Marse John, they is here," — 
he had seen a squad coming up towards the capitol and 
he ran home. 

During the boy's absence one of the negro girls ran 
down to the capitol square and on her return came into 
my room and stated that she saw fifteen Yankees on 
horseback ride up 9th Street to the capitol gate, enter 
and ride up to the building. Some of them dismounted, 
went inside and soon came out on the roof, where they 
hoisted a United States flag on the flagstafT! That 
was the first flag hoisted by the enemy in Richmond. 
This party made a deep impression on her, for they were 
the first body of armed Yankees she had seen ; she seemed 
particularly struck with their uniform and long buck 
gauntlets. 

She went out again soon afterwards, staying two or 
three hours. She came back with a large blanket filled 
with articles as numerous and as varied as are in a ped- 
dler's pack, gotten, she said, out of stores on Main 
street; that all were open and everybody was helping 
himself, and she thought she would do the same! 

From the great clouds of smoke hovering over the 
city, it seemed that all down-town must be burning up! 
Large chunks of fire were falling on our house and in the 
yard, — the house had been on fire several times, — one 
of the negro men servants had come home from fear, 
and we had stationed him on top of the house to watch ! 
He stayed there all day. A man or boy was on nearly 



288 ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

every house, although in some places the women were 
doing this duty. We were about half a mile from the 
nearest fire, and the smoke at our house was so dense 
all day, that the sun could not be seen and the appear- 
ance out-doors was like that of a heavy fog in the morn- 
ing. 

About midday we heard the music, cheers, and some 
firing by a body of the enemy marching on the next 
street. In our yard, near my window, was a small 
peach tree ; I was sitting up in bed and looking at the 
tree when the firing took place. I saw a small twig of 
the tree fall, and almost at the same moment, heard the 
quick thud of a ball striking the fence! This I call the 
last shot of Richmond. We were sure now that the en- 
emy were in Richmond. A friend called and told us that 
nearly all the business portion of the city had been burned, 
that the Yankees had quelled the mob, and that they were 
then engaged in sto])ping the fire. This they succeeded 
in doing after severe exertion and blowing up several 
buildings ahead of the fire. One of our old negro wo- 
men was heard i)raying nearly all day; she was in the 
yard and terribly frightened by the thought that the 
fire would reach us and burn her u\). 

Hundreds of the residents of the burned district were 
bivouacking in the capitol s(|uare, having moved to it 
everything they could. It i)resented the appearance 
of a vast cam]), filled willi household goods, women and 
children! Many had built fires, and were cooking to 
feed the hungry children. All the people remained there 
until the next day and some stayed several days. 

In the evening we heard that quiet had been restored 
and that the Yankee soldiers were patrolling the streets 
and would place a guard throughout the city in order to 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 289 

preserve order among citizens as well as soldiers; that 
they had marched outside of the city and would allow 
no soldier except the guard to go about the streets. This 
had a very soothing effect, the citizens not knowing what 
would be done for the city. We saw none of the Yan- 
kees except a few now and then passing the house, — 
heard that all the houses would be searched for contra- 
band goods and Confederate soldiers! The next morn- 
ing one of my good neighbors sent me a piece of corn 
bread and herring for breakfast, with the message that 
it was the last of the Confederacy! 

On Wednesday or Thursday our door-bell was rung 
and the one answering it met three Yankee officers at the 
door! They were invited in, and introduced themselves 
by name and stated they were members of Gen. Canby's 
staff, who was in command of the city. One of the 
household came and informed me. Thinking the best 
thing to do was to be candid with them, I sent them in- 
formation of my presence in the house and my condi- 
tion, and asked them to come to my room to see me. 
This they did at once, and they were very polite and 
courteous to me. We had articles of value and others 
we desired to keep, hidden about the house in various 
places. In my room was a large lounge whose springs 
were out of order. In this lounge I had placed two 
sabers, because I thought they would not be detected on 
account of the bad springs. When I invited the officers 
to take seats all sat down on this lounge. I noticed that 
some of them moved about occasionally, but could not tell 
w^hether their suspicions were aroused as to anything 
being in it or not. After talking a little while I told 
them of the hiding-place. They laughed, and when they 
left they told me to let them remain there for the present, 



290 ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

as well as anything else that was hidden, and if any one 
molested us or any articles in the house, to let them know 
at headquarters! The next day a guard was placed on 
that square in front of our house, which remained on 
this post for several weeks. 

On Sunday, April 9. it was rumored in Richmond that 
Gen. Lee had surrendered his armv. None of the Con- 
federate people helieved this. It was confirmed the next 
day. What a blow! The greatest army the world ever 
saw% the Army of Northern Virginia, commanded by that 
great soldier. Gen. Lee, had surrendered ! It seemed 
impossible! However few, they would die fighting! — 
but the officers thought it best to save those few men and 
determined to surrender! Gen. Grant, the Commander in 
Chief of the United States Army, who commanded the 
army of the Potomac in person, paid the Army of North- 
ern Virginia its greatest tribute, when he said the year 
before that that army could not be beaten, it could only 
be destroyed, and this he intended to do by mere attri- 
ti(^n. knowing full well when he destroyed one man, we 
had no (jther to put in his place. lie was willing to sac- 
rifice ten of his men to one of ours, if necessary. How 
well he carried this out his campaign will tell, as the 
Army of Northern Virginia destroyed for him several 
times its own number before it was finally destroyed. 

.\ few days after the confirmation of the surrender, 
the men of Lee's army began to arrive in Richmond, 
and the old Chief himself came riding alone to the city! 
His old followers immediately recognized him and 
formed in line and followed him to his home, where with 
uncovered heads they saw him enter his door, and then 
they silently dispersed. This was the last of the Con- 
federacy ! ! ! 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 291 

All realized that the last hope was gone, and that the 
great struggle for secession was at an end. Thus ended 
the war, and at that time the inhabitants of the South 
were a ruined people. 

" Furl that banner — true 'tis gory, 
Yet 'tis wreathed around with glory, 
And 'twill live in song and story, 

Though its folds are in the dust; 
For its fame on brightest pages. 
Penned by poet and by sages. 
Shall go sounding down the ages. 

Furl its folds though now we must. 

" Furl that banner — softly, slowly ; 
Treat it gently — it is holy. 

For it droops above the dead ; 
Touch it not — unfold it never, 
Let it droop there, furled forever. 
For its people's hopes are dead." 



XXXIV 



RETURNING HOME 



When the Confederate soldiers returned from the 
army after the war the majority of them hterally had 
nothing but the ragged clothing on their backs, not even 
a change! What a sight met them on their arrival at 
home! Desolation everywhere. Many found their fam- 
ilies scattered all over the state, difYerent members having 
taken up their abode with relatives or friends in such 
sections as had not been over-run by the enemy. Many 
found dwellings, barns, stables, outbuildings, fences and 
literally everything except the land gone; some found a 
few outbuildings remaining, no fences, while others 
found the fences remaining but everything else gone. 
One could travel along the roads in certain sections of 
the country for miles and see neither fence nor house 
nor a single living thing, unless a fox or other wild ani- 
mal should cross his path! 

While some of the soldiers had their land, that was all 
they had, — no stock, no farming utensils or provisions. 
If (jne had these he was an exception. The world will 
never know the poverty these men were reduced to, and 
their conduct at this time shines out with more brilliancy, 
if such could l:)e the case, than did their services in the 
army ! They literally turned the sword into the plowshare, 
and went to work with a determination to make a living, 
and, if possible, to recujx^rate their fortunes! Poverty 
is a great levelcr, and all were on the same footing now. 

2f)2 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 293 

The men accepted any honorable work, and there were 
actually seen in the streets of Richmond, in the burnt 
district, men cleaning brick who a short time ago were 
worth thousands! 

It was not uncommon to see a private and a colonel 
in their old uniforms, working side by side! The men 
in the country went to work with the same determina- 
tion — a family who had been raised in affluence and 
luxury, living in a log cabin, the lady of the house doing 
the cooking and the landed proprietor following a plow 
drawn by the only horse on the place! 

All the money made by the men for several months 
was spent in meeting actual needs, and generally it took 
all they made to feed the family. In consequence, the 
old soldiers were still wearing their old uniforms. This 
became a great annoyance to the Yankee army that was 
stationed in the South. The sight of the old Confeder- 
ate soldier going about daily in his old uniform reminded 
them too forcibly of the hard times they had undergone 
during the last four years. In order to remove these 
uniforms out of sight as much as possible, the military 
authorities issued an order that the brass buttons on the 
coats and jackets of the late Confederate soldier must 
come off by a certain day. They allowed them the choice 
of covering the buttons with some material that would 
hide the shining brass or cut them off, — but the brass 
buttons must be off or hidden from sight by that date. 
If the brass buttons were found on their clothing after 
that date, the United States soldiers had orders to arrest 
the offender and cut the buttons off. It the man sub- 
mitted to this or made no resistance he was allowed to 
go free, if he was caught the second time he would be 
imprisoned. Some of our men thought this such a fool- 



294 ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

ish order for the great United States government to is- 
sue, that they paid no attention to it ; and many were 
stopped in the streets of Richmond and their buttons 
were cut off! This accounts for many of the old uni- 
forms that are seen at this day with buttons covered or 
without brass or mihtary buttons. 

A few years after the war I met an old comrade — it 
was a happy meeting as each had so much to tell the 
other — when we finally said good-by, he turned to me 
and said : 

" I can't take up my musket 

And fight 'em now no more, 
But I ain't a-going to love 'em, 

Now that is sartin sure ; 
For I don't want no pardon, 

For what I was and am, 
I won't be reconstructed, 

And I don't care a damn." 



XXXV 



THE WOMEN OF THE SOUTH 



What had the women of the South been doing all 
this time? Would that I had a gifted pen to tell of the 
noble deeds done by them ! They had not been idle. 
Wherever woman could work or administer comfort, 
there she was found. 

As soon as Virginia seceded, they organized societies 
throughout the State for work. In Richmond they met 
daily at certain houses and in the basement of nearly 
every church, where they made bandages by the mile, 
lint by the hundred pounds, — using all the old cotton 
and linen clothing they had for this purpose, — making 
haversacks, and clothing of all kinds. To show with 
what energy they could work when it was necessary, I 
will narrate a circumstance told me soon after it oc- 
curred: During the retreat of Johnston from York- 
town, Richmond was thought to be deficient in fortifi- 
cations, and it was suggested that if the government had 
bags they might be filled with sand and earth and placed 
in position, thus forming a wall, and then with earth 
thrown against this on the outside, earthworks of great 
strength could be made very quickly, — but how to get 
enough bags was the trouble ! The ladies hearing of 
this, sent a committee to see the Secretary of War, offer- 
ing to make the bags if he would supply the material. 
He gladly accepted their ofTer and in an hour he had 
delivered to the ladies, at various places which they had 

295 



296 ONE OF JACKSOX'S FOOT CAVALRY 

designated, many huge rolls of cotton. The ladies were 
ready ; cutting and making commenced, and the work 
went on all night. The next morning thousands of fin- 
ished hags were delivered to the authorities, and in a 
few hours the work of erecting the fortificati(jns was 
begun ! 

The hospital committee were ever present, administer- 
ing to the sick and wounded. I have heard numerous 
soldiers say they were glad they were wounded, as the 
careful attention received from those women more than 
repaid them for the suffering they endured ! Here is a 
little incident told me after the war, by one of the fash- 
ionable young ladies, who lived on one of the fashionable 
streets of Richmond during the war. She was one of 
the young ladies who composed one of the hospital com- 
mittees. In one of the hospitals which she attended, 
there was a soldier from one of the southern states who 
was desperately wounded, whom devoted nursing saved. 
He appreciated it and showed his obligation as well as 
a man could by thanks. When he was well and was or- 
dered to his command in the field, lie asked this young 
lady if he might call on her at her home. She told him 
she would be glad to see him at any time, and gave him 
the number of her residence. A day or two afterwards 
he called, and after conversing a short while, he told 
her he knew that the care given him by the ladies had 
.saved his life, and he had asked to call in order that he 
might thank lier and at the .same time he wished to 
make her a bttle present. 11n's had given him a great 
deal of th()U.L;lit. as his means were very limited, but he 
had iKHight her what he considered the best thing in the 
world, and he presented her with a small package of 
"goobers" (peanuts), saying he wished he were able 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 297 

to give her a bushel! She said to me that she consid- 
ered that the most vahiable present she ever received, and 
prized it as such, because it came from the man's heart; 
and she thinks it took every cent of money he had to 
purchase it ! 

There were committees to look after the poor who had 
a hard time, as all were poor! They did their duty as 
nobly and faithfully as the others. 

Many households had no male person in them. This 
entailed much work and anxiety on the women at the 
head of them, and especially w^as this true in the country, 
where it was necessary to attend to the business of the 
farm, as well as that of the house. Many farms, and 
some large ones, were operated very successfully by 
women. 

After the war they shared every hardship cheerfully, 
and, with an abiding faith in the men, they upheld them 
in all honorable work, and welcomed their old acquaint- 
ances to their homes with great cordiality, regardless 
of their rough hands and ragged clothing. 

God bless the Southern women of those days ! Would 
that I were able to build a monument to them. I would 
have it as high as the steeple of St. Paul's Church, and 
in its base a room, the walls of which I would adorn 
with paintings, telling the story of their lives during those 
trying times. In the center of this room, I would have 
a statue of a Southern mother, dressed in plain Confeder- 
ate clothes, holding in one hand a pocket Bible, which she 
is handing to her boy who is not old enough to wear a 
coat, her other hand pointing to the open door, and, with 
tears streaming down her cheeks, telling him his coun- 
try's needs are more than hers — to go and join the 
army! Among the paintings, I would have the wife 



298 ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

and daughters of Gen. Robert E. Lee, knitting socks for 
the private soldiers of his army! and Mrs. Gen. John B. 
Gordon, administering to a sick or wounded soldier on the 
roadside in the field. She accompanied the General in 
the field during the war. I would fill the room with such 
scenes as these. 



XXXVI 



GEN. LEE 



I WAS standing in the door of our headquarters in Rich- 
mond about the middle of April, 1861, when my atten- 
tion was attracted by a man approaching; he wore a uni- 
form. It was not the uniform that attracted my at- 
tention but the man himself. He was tall and straight, 
and I thought the handsomest specimen of manhood I 
had ever seen, both in face and figure. He made such 
an impression that as he came opposite me I could not 
keep from looking at him, and when he had passed my 
eyes still followed him, until I actually stepped outside 
of the door in order to keep him in sight. About an 
hour later he returned up the street and went into the 
Spottswood Hotel. I followed and asked some friend 
if he could tell me who that splendid looking man was. 
He informed me that it was Colonel Robert E. Lee. 

The next time I saw him was on Valley Mountain in 
Pocahontas Co., Va. (now West Va.). He was a gen- 
eral in the Confederate army and in command of our 
department. I saw him daily before he was ordered to 
another command. In our advance to attack Mc- 
Clellan at Cold Harbor in 1862, after passing through 
the woods and reaching a field, the first man we saw was 
our beloved old general on his gray horse, and although 
he was at some distance, we recognized him at once. 
He was then in command of the army of Northern Vir- 
ginia, and we joined him to remain till the end came at 

299 



300 ONE OF JACKSOX'S FOOT CAVALRY 

Appomattox. I saw him several times after this around 
Richmond. The next time I saw him he was sitting 
on a stump on the battlefield of Second Manassas ob- 
serving Longstreet's men taking position in line of battle, 
as they came on the field to join Jackson. I saw him 
often from that time till Grant's campaign of 1864. The 
last time I saw him he was at Spottsylvania C. H., the 
day our corps left to head Grant off at Hanover Junc- 
tion. He appeared to me the same ideal man, except 
that his hair had become almost white and the dark 
nuistache of my first acquaintance was exchanged for 
a full beard of gray. As our C(jlumn approached him, an 
old private stepped out of ranks and advanced to Gen. 
Lee. They shook hands like acquaintances and entered 
into a lively conversation. As I moved on I looked back, 
and the old man had his gun in one hand and the other 
hand on Traveler's neck, still talking. 

It was such scenes as that, that made Gen. Lee so p>op- 
ular. He believed in his men and thought they could 
do anything that mortals could do. His men worshiped 
him. and I think the greatest man the world ever saw 
was Robert 1^. Lee. 

" As troubles gathered round him 

Thick as waves that beat the sliore 

Aetra Cura, rode beliiiid him. 
I'ainine's slia(k)\v filled his door; 

Still he wrought deeds no mortal men 
Had ever wrought before." 



XXXVII 

RECORD OF F COMPANY, 2 1 ST VIRGINIA REGIMENT OF IN- 
FANTRY 

ROSTER 

Captains. R. Milton Gary, enlisted Apl. 21, 1861 ; pro- 
moted colonel of 30th Va. Regt. of Infantry June 
15, 1861 ; and was ordered in 1862 to Belona Ar- 
senal to supervise the making of cannon for the 
army and navy. In 1865 he was ordered to Golds- 
boro, N". C, and surrendered with Johnston's army. 
Richard H. Cunningham, Jr., enlisted Apl. 21, 1861 ; 
as second lieutenant; first lietuenant May i, 1861 ; 
captain May 16, 1861 ; elected lieutenant colonel of 
the 2ist Va. Regt. Apl. 1862; killed at Cedar Run, 
Aug. 9, 1862. 

William H. Morgan, enlisted June 1861, as adju- 
tant of the 2 1st Va. Regt; elected captain of F 
Company Apl. 1862; killed at Cedar Run Aug. 9, 
1862. 

William A. Pcgram, enlisted Apl. 21, 1861 ; pro- 
moted captain in 1863; killed at Williamsport, Md., 
July 6, 1863. 

Reuben J. Jordan, enlisted Apl. 21, 1861 ; promoted 
second lieutenant 1863; and captain in 1864; 
wounded at Cold Harbor, June 3, 1864; and at Fort 
Steadman Mch. 25, 1865. 

First Lieutenant. James R. Crenshaw, enlisted Apl. 21, 

301 



302 ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

1861 ; promoted lieutenant colonel 26tli Va. Regt. 
of Inft., i86j. 

Jr. Second Lieutenant. Philip A. Wei ford, enlisted Apl. 
Ji. 1 861 ; second lieutenant May i, 1861 ; first lieu- 
tenant Dec. 1 861 ; promoted major and commissary 
of subsistence in 1863. 

First Sergeant. Edward Mayo, enlisted A\)\. 21, 1861; 
promoted junior second lieutenant May i, 1861 ; 
first lieutenant June 6, 1861 ; and resigned Dec. 
1861. 

Second Sergeant. Henry T. Miller, enlisted Apr. 21, 
1861 ; first sergeant May i, 1861 ; promoted junior 
second lieutenant June 6, 1861 ; and adjutant of 26th 
Va. Regt. Nov. 1861 ; and captain 25th Va. battal- 
ion of Inft., Mar. 16, 1864. 

lliird Sergeant. John A. Pizzini, enlisted April 21, 
1861 ; first sergeant June 6, 1861 ; promoted lieu- 
tenant of infantry in 1862; wounded on Romney 
expedition winter 1861-2. 

Fourth Sergeant. Edward G. Rawlings, enlisted Apl. 
21, 1861 ; second sergeant June 6, 1861 ; elected 
second lieutenant Apl. 1862; killed at Second Ma- 
nassas, Aug. 30, 1862. 

f-irst Corporal. John Tyler, enlisted Apl. 21, 1861 ; 
sergeant June 6, 1861 ; promoted first lieutenant 
Letcher Battery Feb. 1862; transferred to staff duty 
with Gen. J. L. Kemper. 

Second Corporal. Thomas Ellett, enlisted .\pl. 21, 
1861 ; sergeant June 6, 1861 ; promoted lieutenant 
Crenshaw Battery May, 1862; and captain 1864. 

lliird Corporal. Edward T. Robinson, enlisted Apl. 
21, i8^)T ; transferred 1861 to medical department. 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 303 

Fourth Corporal. Shirley King, enlisted Apl. 21, 1861 ; 
detailed by Secretary of War, 1861. 

Anderson, Archer, enlisted Apl. 21, 1861, promoted cap- 
tain and A. A. G. Gen. Trimbles' staff 1861 ; major 
on Gen. Holmes' staff Feb., 1862; lieutenant col- 
onel on Gen. D. H. Hills' staff July, 1863; and in 
1865 as A. A. Gen., Gen. J. E. Johnston's army. 

Anderson, Junius H., enlisted Apl. 21, 1861 ; promoted 
acting master C. S. Navy in 1862. 

Anderson, Joseph H., enlisted 1863; promoted corporal 
1863; wounded at Cold Harbor June 3, 1864. 

Anderson, Henry V., enlisted April 21, 1861 ; killed at 
Cedar Run Aug. 9, 1862. 

Archer, William S., Jr., enlisted April 21, 1861 ; pro- 
moted first sergeant April, 1863 ; first lieutenant 
company K, 48th Va. Regt. of Inft. 1863; wounded 
near Cold Harbor June, 1864; captured in the Val- 
ley of Va., 1864, and carried to Fort Delaware, 
where he remained until the close of the war. 

Ayers, Edward S., enlisted April 21, 1861 ; transferred 
in 1861. 

Barber, N., enlisted 1863. 

Barker, William C, enlisted April 21, 1861 ; transferred 
to Second company of Howitzers April 10, 1862; 
promoted lieutenant in Letcher's battery, 1862. 

Bates, E., enlisted 1863; died from effects of campaign 
March 10, 1864. 

Bates, W., enlisted 1863; wounded at Hatcher's Run 
Feb. 5-7, 1865. 

Baughman, Charles C, enlisted April 21, 1861 ; trans- 
ferred to Otey battery Nov. 1861. 

Baughman, George C, enlisted April 21, 1861 ; pro- 
moted first lieutenant, Caskie battery in 1861. 



304 ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

P)aii.u:hman, Greer IL, enlisted April 21, 1861; trans- 
ferred to Caskie battery as sergeant July, 1861 ; 
wounded at Cold Harbor June 3, 1864. 

Beers, Henry H., enlisted April 21, 1861; transferred 
to Caskie battery 1862. 

Binford, James M., enlisted April 21, 1861 ; trans- 
ferred to signal corps 1862. 

Binford, Robert E., enlisted April 21, 1861 ; promoted 
first lieutenant heavy artillery, 1862. 

Blunt, Ira \V., enlisted April 21, 1861 ; promoted hos- 
pital steward 21st Va. Regt., Jan. 24, 1862. 

Boyd, James N., age 15 years. Joined us at Namo- 
zine Creek April 1865. Captured a few days after 
at Sailor's Creek. 

Bowe, H. C, enlisted 1863, discharged June. 1864. 

Bridgers, David B., Jr. enlisted April 21, 1861 ; trans- 
ferred to Richmond Howitzers. 1862. 

Bridgers. Richard M., enlisted April 21, 1861 ; promoted 
captain of infantry March 18, 1862. 

Brock. R. Alonzo, enlisted April 21, 1861 ; promoted 
corporal April 22, 1863; detailed by Gen. Lee June 
12, 1862, for special service; promoted captain of 
infantry in 1862. 

Brown, A. 1)., enlisted 1863; wounded at Hatcher's 
\\\m ]'\'b. 5-7, 1865. 

Brown, A. H., enlisted 1863. 

Brown, George ^^^, enlisted 1863; wounded (l(>st a 
leg) at Wilderness May 5, 1864. 

Brown, Henry, enlisted 1863. 

Brown, James R., enlisted 1863. 

Bullington. Henry N., enlisted April 21, 1861; detailed 
by Secretary of War in 1861, for clerical service 
with Gen. A. P. Hill. 



J 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 305 

Cabell, J. Caskie, enlisted April 21, 1861 ; promoted 
first lieutenant company F, 60th Va. Regt. 1861. 

Callis, G., enlisted 1863. 

Child, Jesse, enlisted April 21, 1861 ; promoted corporal 
June 6, 1861 ; and sergeant 1861 ; first lieutenant 
Company A, 42d Va. Regt., 1862; captured at 
Spottsylvania C. H., May 12, 1864; sent to Morris 
Island and placed under fire of the Confederate 
guns of Charleston in order to keep them from fir- 
ing on certain points occupied by the Yankee army, 
afterwards taken to prison and kept there until the 
close of the war. 

Chamberlayne, J. Hampden, enlisted April 21, 1861 ; 
promoted lieutenant Provisional Army, Va., May 
1862; and assigned as adjutant of artillery battalion, 
A. P. Hill's division ; assigned to Crenshaw battery 
Jan., 1862; captured near Gettysburg, Pa., July, 
1863; promoted captain July, 1864, and assigned 
to the command of a battery near the Crater; pro- 
moted major March, 1865, and assignment not made 
until just before the Appomattox retreat; com- 
mander of rear guard of artillery at Appomattox 
C. H., April 9, 1865. 

Chapman, Isaac W., enlisted April 21, 1861 ; discharged 
by the Secretary of War Jan. 1862. 

Clarke, Maxwell T., enlisted April 21, 1861 ; transferred 
to C. S. Navy June, 1861 ; commissioned master 
in charge of navy yard at Richmond, May, 1863; 
and placed in command of gunboat in James River 
Squadron. 

Clopton, Dr. John, enlisted April 21, 1861 ; promoted 
assistant surgeon and transferred in 1861. 



3o6 ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

Cocke, Lorenzo, G., enlisted April jt, i86i ; died in 
camp at Milboro, Dec. i, 1861. 

Cole, Addison C, enlisted April 21, 1861 ; discharged 
by the Secretary of War. Jan. i86j. 

Coleman, X., enlisted 1863. 

Couch, L. M., enlisted 1863; wounded at Payne's Farm 
Nov. 27. 1863; and at the Wilderness May 5, 1864; 
and at Cedar Creek Oct. 19, 1864. 

Cowardin, John L., enlisted April 21. 1861; promoted 

first lieutenant and adjutant of Va. Regt., in 

Floyd's command, 1861. 

Craig, John A., enlisted April 21, 1861 ; appointed hos- 
pital steward, Feb., 1864. 

Cumbie, W. S., enlisted 1863. 

Cumbia, W. E., transferred from 24th Va. battalion of 
infantry 1863; killed at Wilderness, May 5, 1864 

Danforth. Henry ])., enlisted April 21, 1861 ; promoted 
lieutenant of ordnance April, 1862; and captain and 
A. A. General on Gen. Hunton's staff. 

Dill, Adolph, Jr., enlisted April 21, 1861 ; detailed by 
order of the Secretary of W^ar, 1863. 

Dillard. K. 11., enlisted 1863; wounded at the Wilder- 
ness, May 5, 1864. 

Divers, \\'. TI., enlisted 1863; wounded at Newtown 
Au.c^. II. 1864; and died two days afterwards. 

Doggctt, I'Vancis W., enlisted April 21, 1861 ; trans- 
ferred to Dabncy's battery in 1861 ; promoted cap- 
tain of artillery. 

Dowdy, Nathaniel A., enlisted 1863; promoted corporal 
1864: wounded at the Wilderness, May 5, 1864; 
and at Winchester Sept. 19, 1864; captured at 
Fort Steadman March 25, 1865. and was kept in 
prison until the close of the war. 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 307 

Edmonds, W. B., enlisted 1863 ; captured at Spottsyl- 
vania C. H., May 19, 1864, and kept in prison until 
close of war. 

Ellerson, Jock H., enlisted April 21, 1861 ; transferred 
to C. S. Navy, June, 1861. 

Ellett, Robert, enlisted April 21, 1861 ; promoted lieu- 
tenant in Letcher's battery Sept. 23, 1861 ; killed 
in front of Petersburg, April 2, 1865. 

English, J. C, enlisted 1863; wounded at Winchester 
Sept. 19, 1864; captured and sent to Elmira, N. Y., 
where he died. 

Etting, Samuel, enlisted April 21, 1861 ; transferred to 
Caskie battery 1861 ; promoted sergeant 1861. 

Exall, Charles H., enlisted April 21, 1861 ; promoted 
sergeant in Letcher's battery. May, 1862. 

Exall, William, enlisted April 21, 1861 ; killed at Bath 
Jan. 3, 1862. 

Field, William G., enlisted April 21, 1861 ; transferred 
to cavalry in 1861 ; killed at Malvern Hill, July i, 
1862. 

Floyd, George C, enlisted 1863. 

Fontaine, R. Morris, enlisted April 21, 1861 ; discharged 

by the Secretary of War, July, 1861. 
Fox, Henry, C, enlisted 1863; wounded at Monocacy, 

Md., July 9, 1864; killed at Fort Steadman March 

25, 1865. 
Gentry, John W., enlisted April 21, 1861 ; promoted 

corporal 1862; transferred to Assistant A. Genl's 

department, June, 1862. 

Gentry, M. G., enlisted 1863; detailed by Gen. Lee and 
ordered to report to Gen. Winder at Richmond, in 
1864. 



3o8 ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

Gibson, William T., enlisted A\)v\\ 21, 1861 ; discharged 
by the Secretary of War, Dec. 1862. 

Gillian, Robert H., enlisted April 21, 1861 ; wounded 
at Cedar Run Aug. Q, 1862: promoted second lieu- 
tenant 25th Va. battalion of infantry, Feb. 1864; 
acting adjutant of the battalion when captured at 
Sailor's Creek, April 6, 1865. 

Gouldman, E., enlisted 1863; promoted corporal 1863, 
and sergeant 1864. 

Gray, W. Granville, enlisted April 21, 1861 ; promoted 
second lieutenant Dec. 6, 1861 : elected first lieu- 
tenant April 19. 1862; resigned March 25, 1864. 

Gray, Summerville, enlisted April 21, 1861 ; transferred 
to Howitzers in 1861. 

Green, John W., enlisted April 21, 1861 ; transferred to 
artillery 1861 ; assigned to ordnance department; 
entered cavalry service in 1863; killed near Liberty 
Mills Sept. 22, 1863. 

Green, T. Richie, enlisted April 21, 1861 ; transferred 
and promoted lieutenant of artillery, 1861. 

Griffin, J., enlisted 1863; captured at Spottsylvania C. 
II., May 19, 1864. 

Harrison, Thomas R., enlisted Ai)ril 21, 1861 ; trans- 
ferred to Second Richmond Howitzers; promoted 
lieutenant and A. D. C. on Gen. Garnett's staff, 
1862; wounrled and cai)ture(l at Gettysburg, Pa., 
and kept in prison until close of the war. 

Ilarvic. William O., enlisted A])ril 21, 1861 ; transferred 
to (juartermaster's department i8^)i ; promoted 
Major A. O. M. 

Hawkins, L. A., enlisted 1863; discharged by the Secre- 
tary of War, Aj)ril 9, 1864. 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 309 

Haynes, George A., enlisted April 21, 1861 ; promoted 

ordnance sergeant 21st Va. Regt. Oct., 1862. 
Henry, Dr. Patrick, enlisted May 16, 1861 ; promoted 

assistant surgeon in the army, 1861. 
Hobson, Deane, enlisted April 21, 1861 ; transferred to 

artillery 1861. 
Houston, G. W., enlisted 1863; wounded at Winchester 

Sept. 19, 1864. 
Hudgins, Malcolm L., enlisted May 16, 1861 ; promoted 

junior second lieutenant 1863; and first lieutenant 

April, 1864; wounded and captured at Cedar Creek, 

Oct. 19, 1864, and kept in prison until March 30, 

1864, when he was exchanged. 
Hull, Irving, enlisted May, 1861 ; transferred 1861. 
Jenkins, William S., enlisted April 21, 1861. 
Jones, David B., enlisted April 21, 1861 ; promoted 

quartermaster sergeant of 21st Va. Regt., 1862, 

and acting Q. M. of the regiment, 1864. 
Jones, Philip B., Jr., enlisted April 21, 1861 ; promoted 

captain and A. Q. M., Oct. 26, 1861. 
Johnston, J. W., enlisted 1863; captured at Wilderness 

May 5, 1864; kept in prison until close of war. 
Kayton, P. W., enlisted 1863 ; captured on skirmish line 

at Spottsylvania C. H. May 12, 1864; kept in 

prison until close of war. 
Kellogg. Timothy H., enlisted April 21, 1861 ; promoted 

second lieutenant company H, 21st Va. Regt. April 

22, 1862; promoted Major and A. C. S. Nov., 1862. 
Kidd, J. A., enlisted 1863; wounded at Payne's Farm, 

Nov. 2^, 1863; killed at Fort Steadman March 

25, 1865. 
Legg, A. C, enlisted 1863; wounded at the Wilderness, 

May 5, 1864; died from its effects June 26, 1864. 



3IO OXE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

Lindsay, Roswcll S., enlisted April Ji, 1861 ; promoted 
corporal April, 1862; killed at Cedar Run, Aug. 
9, 1862. 

Lorentz, A., enlisted April 21, 1861 ; transferred 1861. 

Macmurdo, Richard C, enlisted May 18, 1861; pro- 
moted captain and A. C. S. March 30, 1862. 

Maddox, R. G., enlisted May, 1861 ; transferred 186 1. 

Mason, J. M., enlisted 1863, captured at Cedar Creek, 
Oct. 19, 1864; kei)t in prison until close of war. 

Mayo, Joseph E., enlisted May 10, 1861 ; transferred 
to signal corps 1863. 

McEvoy, Charles A., enlisted April 21, 1861 ; resigned 
June 2^, 1 861, by order of Gov. Letcher. 

Meade, Everard B., enlisted April 21, 1861 ; promoted 
lieutenant regiment of engineer troops; and A. D. 
C. to Brig.-Gen. James H. Lane. 

Mebane, James A., enlisted April 21. 1861 ; promoted 
hospital steward in 1861. 

Meredith, J. French, enlisted April 21. 1861 ; transferred 
186 1. 

Merryman. J. 1., enlisted 1863; captured on skirmish 
line at Spottsylvania C. II., May 12, 1864. 

Mitchell, SanuK*] O., enlisted April ji, 1S61 ; promoted 
lieutenant A. D. C. to Gen. C. S. Winder May 9, 
1862; killed at Gaines Mill. June i-j, 1862. 

Mitlledorfer, Charles, enlisted April 21, \'^(^\\ trans- 
ferred 1 86 1. 

Morris, Walter 11. P., enlisted .\pril 21, 1861 ; trans- 
ferred to Marye battery 1861 ; promoted lieutenant 
and A. D. C. 

Mountcastle, John R., enlisted April 21, 1861 ; promoted 
lieutenant of cavalry June. 1862. 

Munt, Henry l\, enlisted 1863; promoted corjxjral 1863; 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 311 

captured at Wilderness, May 5, 1864, and kept in 
prison until close of war. 

Nance, J. L., enlisted 1863; discharged by the Secretary 
of War in 1864. 

Norwood, William, Jr., enlisted April 21, 1861 ; pro- 
moted lieutenant and A. D. C, Sept. 11, 1861, 
and captain and A. A. Gen. 1862. Wounded at Ce- 
dar Run, Aug. 9, 1862. 

Nunnally, Joseph L., enlisted April 21, 1861 ; wounded 
at Kernstown, March 23, 1862; killed at Cedar 
Run, Aug. 9, 1862. 

Pace, George R., enlisted April 21, 1861 ; promoted cor- 
poral June, 1 86 1, discharged by the Secretary of 
War, June, 1862. 

Pace, Theodore A., enlisted May 6, 1861 ; discharged 
by the Secretary of War, June, 1862. 

Page, Mann, enlisted April 21, 1861 ; promoted sergeant 
major of 21st Va. Regt. in 1861 ; first lieutenant and 
adjutant 1862; captain and A. A. Gen. in 1862; 
Major on Gen. Early's staff, 1864. 

Pardigon, C. F., enlisted April 21, 1861 ; promoted 
lieutenant in Provisional Army C. S., and Captain 
on Gen. Kershaw's staff. 

Payne, James B., enlisted April 21, 1861 ; promoted 
junior second lieutenant Dec. 28, 1861 ; wounded 
at Bath, Jan. 3, 1862. 

Peaster, Henry, enlisted April 21, 1861 ; wounded at 
Payne's Farm Nov. 27, 1863; transferred to Mary- 
land line. 1864. 

Peagram, William R. J., enlisted April 21, 1861 ; pro- 
moted lieutenant Purcell battery May, 1861 ; pro- 
moted captain, lieutenant, colonel and colonel of 
artillery; killed at Five Forks, April i, 1865. 



312 OXK OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

Peterkin, George \\'., enlisted Ai)ril ji, i86i ; promoted 
sergeant 1861 ; and elected junior lieutenant April 
19, 1862; promoted first lieutenant and A. D. C. 
on Gen. W. X. Pendleton's staff, June, 1862. 

Picot, Henry V., enlisted Ajjril 21, 1861; wounded at 
Kernstown, March j;^,, 1862; and died from its 
effects. 

Piet, William A., enlisted April 21, 1861 ; transferred 
to Third company Howitzers, June, 1862. 

Pilcher, Samuel F., enlisted April 21, 1861 ; when F 
Company went to Fredericksburg he was made a 
sergeant, and left in Richmcjnd to recruit a second 
company. Ill health soon compelled him to discon- 
tinue, his health gradually declined and he died in 

1863. 

Pollard, William G., enlisted April 21, 1861 ; promoted 
sergeant April 19, 1862; killed at Cedar Run, Aug, 
9, 1862. 

Powell. John G., enlisted May 10, 1861 ; killed at Cedar 
Run, Aug. 9, 1862. 

IVwell, John W.. enlisted April 21. 1861 ; transferred 
186*1. 

Price, Channing R., enlisted May, 1861 ; promoted lieu- 
tenant, ca])tain and major on Gen. J. 1^. I>. Stuart's 
staff; killed at Chanccllorsville, May, 1863. 

Randolph. ]. Tucker, enlisted April 21, 1861 ; promoted 
corporal June 5, 1861 ; sergeant 1861 ; wounded at 
Kernstr)wn, March 23, i86j; ])romoted lieutenant 
(»n Cien. John Pegram's staff, June, 1862; killed at 
P.ethesda Church, May 30, 18^)4. 

Randolph, M. Lewis, enlisted April ji. 1861 ; promoted 
corporal May, 1861 ; lieutenant in First Va. battal- 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 313 

ion of infantry 1861 ; and captain in signal corps, 
1862. 

Redd, Clarence M., enlisted April 21, 1861 ; wounded at 
Cedar Run, Aug. 9, 1862; transferred to Hanover 
artillery in 1862. 

Reeve, David I. B., enlisted April 21, 1861 ; promoted 
first lieutenant and adjutant of cavalry in 1862. 

Reeve, John J., enlisted May 10, 1861 ; promoted captain 
and A. A. General on Gen. Loring's staff April 7, 
1862 ; major and A. A. G. on Gen. Stevenson's 
staff, 1862. 

Rennie, G. Hutcheson, enlisted May 18, 1861 ; killed at 
Fort Steadman, March 25, 1865. 

Richeson, P. S., enlisted 1863; wounded at Spottsyl- 
vania C. H. May 12, 1864. 

Richeson, William R., enlisted 1863; and served with 
his company to Appomattox. Complimented on 
the battlefield at Hatcher's Run, Feb. 5-7, 1865, 
by General Gordon. 

Rison, John W., enlisted April 21, 1861 ; transferred to 
Laboratory department 1861. 

Robertson, William S., enlisted May 18, 1861 ; pro- 
moted sergeant 1864; captured at Waynesboro, 
Mar. 2, 1865, sent to Fort Delaware, and kept there 
until close of the war. 

Robinson, Christopher A., enlisted April 21, 1861 ; de- 
tailed in engineer corps, 1862. 

Robinson, Richard F., enlisted April 21, 1861; dis- 
charged by the Secretary of War, April, 1862. 

Rutledge, W., enlisted 1863; served with his company to 
Appomattox. 

Searles, S., enlisted 1863; sent to hospital Aug. 16, 1864. 

Seay, M., enlisted 1863; sent to hospital May 2, 1864. 



314 OXE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

Seay, W. C, enlisted 1863; wounded at Spottsylvania 
C. H., May 12, 1864, and died from its effects 
May 14, 1864. 

Singleton, A. Jackson, enlisted April 21, 1861 ; dis- 
charged by the Secretary of War Feb., 1862. 

Simpson, F. J., enlisted 1863; captured at Spottsylvania 
C. H., May 19, 1864. 

Sizer, Milton 1)., enlisted April 21, 1861 ; discharged 
by the Secretary of War Feb., 1862. 

Skinker, Charles R., enlisted April 21, 1861 ; wounded 
at Kernstown ^larch 27,, 1862; transferred to sec- 
ond company of Howitzers in 1862; wounded at 
Fredericksburg, 1862; promoted first lieutenant 
Company K, 48th Va. Regt. of infantry 1863; cap- 
tain 1863; wounded at Chancellorsville, May 2, 
1863; captured at Spottsylvania C. H. May 12, 
1864; sent to Fort Delaware and rejoined his com- 
mand in about seven months ; wounded at Hatcher's 
Run Feb. 12, 1865 and permanently disabled. 

Smith, Edward H., enlisted April Ji, 1861; transferred 

to Howitzers in 1861. 
Smith, Henry, enlisted 1863; wounded at Wilderness 

May 5, 1864. 

Smith. J. T., enlisted 1863; served with his company to 
Apjjomattox. 

Smith, Thomas, enlisted 1863 ; captured at the Wilderness 

May 5, 1864; kept in ])ris(»n until close of war. 
Soles, Peter 1)., enlisted 1863. 

Sublett, Peter A., enlisted Ai)ril 21, 1861; transferred 
to 'J'hird company of Richmond Howitzers Aug., 
1862. 

'i'abb, Ivobcrl M.. enlisted April ji. 18O1 ; promoted ser- 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 315 

geant 1863; sergeant-major 21st Va. Regt. Sept., 
1864; killed at Cedar Creek, Oct. 19, 1864. 

Talley, Daniel D., enlisted April 21, 1861 ; promoted 
paymaster C. S. Navy, 1862. 

Tatum, A. Randolph, enlisted April 21, 1861 ; detailed 
and assigned to duty with Gen. J. H. Winder, Feb., 
1862. 

Tatum, Vivion H., enlisted April 21, 1861 ; detailed in 
commissary department in Richmond 1862. 

Taylor, Charles E., enlisted April 21, 1861 ; wounded 
at Kernstown, March 23, 1862; transferred to sig- 
nal corps, 1862. 

Taylor, Clarence E., enlisted April 21, 1861 ; wounded 
at Cedar Run Aug. 9, 1862; detailed to Quarter- 
master's department in Richmond, 1862. 

Taylor, Edward B., enlisted April 21, 1861 ; wounded 
at Kernstow^n, Mar. 23, 1862; transferred to ord- 
nance department 1862; promoted quartermaster- 
sergeant with Maj. Turner, 1864. 

Taylor, Robert T., enlisted April 21, 1861 ; promoted 
Major and A. 0. M., April 15, 1862. 

Tiney, W. C, enlisted 1863; promoted corporal May, 
1863; killed at Williamsport, Md., July 6, 1863. 

Tompkins, Edward G., enlisted April 21, 1861 ; w^ounded 
at Cedar Run, Aug. 9, 1862; permanently disabled. 

Trainum, Charles, enlisted 1863; discharged by the 
Secretary of War, April 11, 1864. 

Tyler, James E., enlisted April 21, 1861 ; promoted ser- 
geant Letcher battery March, 1862; wounded at 
Harper's Ferry 1862; wounded at Chancellorsville, 
May 3, 1863 ; promoted second lieutenant, July, 
1864; and commanded battery at close of war. 

Tyler, R. Emmet, enlisted April 21, 1861 ; promoted 



3i6 ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

corporal April, 1S62; transferred to ordnance de- 
partment, 1862. 

Tyree, W. C, enlisted 1863; promoted corporal 1864; 
wounded at Cedar Creek, Oct. 19, 1864. 

Van Buren, Benjamin B., enlisted April 21, 1861 ; dis- 
charged by the Secretary of War, 1862. 

W'aldrop, Richard \V., enlisted April 21, 1861 ; promoted 
commissary sergeant 21st Va. Regt., 1863. 

\\'alker, T., enlisted 1863; promoted sergeant May, 
1863; killed at Williamsport, Md., July 6, 1863. 

Wallace, R. H., enlisted 1863; transferred to 24th V^a. 
battalion of Infantry, 1863. 

Watkins, A. Salle, enlisted April 21. 1861 ; promoted 
second lieutenant company C, 3d battalion Va. In- 
fantry May 17, 1864; first lieutenant, and captain, 
March, 1865. 

Watkins, H. Harrison, enlisted April 21, 1861 ; promoted 
sergeant-major 21st Va. Regt. 1862; wounded at 
Cedar Run, Aug. 9, 1862; and permanently dis- 
abled. 

White, Robert C, enlisted April Ji. 1861 ; transferred 
to Crenshaw battery, Aug. 13. 1S62. 

Wilkins, J. M., enlisted 1863. 

Willis, Joseph N., enlisted April 21, 1861; prumotetl 

hospital steward, Nov., 1863. 
Wood, S. E., enlisted 1863. 
Worsham, John II., enlisted April ji, 1861; ])romoted 

second sergeant April, 1863; first sergeant I>ec. 

1863: adjutant of 21st Va. Regt., Sei)t. 12, 1864; 

wcnnidcd at Winchester Sept. 19, 1864; jicrnia- 

ncntly disabled. 
Worsham, Thomas K., enlisted April 21, 1861 ; promoted 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 317 

sergeant Letcher battery, second lieutenant in 1862; 
wounded at Spottsylvania C. H. May, 1864. 

Wren, J. Porter, enlisted April 21, 1861 ; promoted third 
sergeant April, 1863; second sergeant Dec, 1863; 
wounded at Cedar Run, Aug. 9, 1862; at Payne's 
Farm Nov. 27, 1863; killed at Monocacy, Md., 
July 9, 1864. 

Wright, Philip A., enlisted April 21, 1861 ; transferred 
1861. 

Zimmer, Louis, enHsted April 21, 1861 ; promoted cap- 
tain in ordnance department, 1861. 

Dr. Frank B. Cunningham, enlisted April 21, 1861 ; as 
surgeon of the company; promoted assistant-sur- 
geon in the army in 1861, and surgeon of Division 
1 862'. 

Dr. Peter Lyons, enlisted April 21, 1861 ; as assistant 
surgeon of the company; promoted assistant sur- 
geon in the army in 1861, and surgeon, 1862. 
This makes a total of one hundred and ninety-two 

who belonged to the company during the war; below is 

a list of changes that took place — casualties, trans- 
fers, promotions, etc. : 

Died, 3; killed, 31; wounded, 49; captured by the 

enemy, 19; transferred, 38; promoted to other commands, 

57; discharged, 16; resigned, 2. 

Promoted to Navy 5 

Promoted Hospital Stewards 4 

Promoted Assistant Surgeons 4 

Promoted Surgeons 2 

Promoted Corporals 14 

Promoted Sergeants 25 

Promoted Jr. second lieutenants 7 



3i8 OXE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

Promoted Second lieutenants i6 

Promoted First lieutenants 28 

Promoted Captains 24 

Promoted Majors 10 

Promoted Lieutenant Colonels 4 

Promoted Colonels 3 

I also give a list of casualties, promotions, etc., that 
took place in V Company while the men were serving 
with that company ; these are included in list above : 

Killed, 20; wounded, 27; captured by the enemy, 11 ; 
died, 3; discharged, 16; resigned, 2. 

Promoted Corporals 12 

F*romoted Sergeants 15 

Promoted Jr. Second Lieutenant 5 

Promoted Second Lieutenant 4 

Promoted First Lieutenant 4 

Promoted Captains 4 

F. Company participated in the following battles: 

1861, Acquia Creek, May 29, June 7-8; Crouch's, Aug. 

LS- 

1862, P.atli, Jan. 4; Sir John's Run. Jan. 6; Hancock, 

Jan. 7; Romncy, Jan. 17; Kcrnstown. Mch. 21, ; 
McDowell, May 8; h'ranklin. May 11; Front 
Royal, May 21,; Midletown, May 24; Winches- 
ter, May 25 ; Cross Keys, June 7 ; Port Republic, 
June 9; Cold Harbor, June 2^:^: \Miite Oak 
Swamp, June 30; Malvern Hill, July i : Cedar 
Run, Aug. 9; Second Manassas, Aug. 2S, 29, 
30; Chantilly, Sept. 2; Harper's Ferry, Sept. 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 319 

13, 14, 15; Sharspbiirg, 16, 17; Fredericksburg, 
Dec. 13. 

1863, Williamsport, Md., July 6; Hagerstown, Md., 

July 8; Payne's Farm, Nov. 27; Mine Run, 
Dec. I, 2, 3. 

1864, Wilderness, May 5-8; Spottsylvania C. H., May 

9 to 20 ; Hanover Junction, May 22 ; Bethesda 
Church, May 30; Cold Harbor, 2 to 7; Lynch- 
burg, June 18; Monocacy, Md., July 9; Wash- 
ington, D. C, July II, 12; Kernstown, July 
24; Newtown, Aug. 11; Winchester, Aug. 17, 
and Sept. 19; Fisher's Hill, Sept. 22; Cedar 
Creek, Oct. 19. 

1865, Hatcher's Run, Feb. 5-7; Fort Steadman, Mch. 

25 ; near Petersburg, Apr. 2 ; Appomattox C. 
H., Apr. 9. 

Our Regiment, the 21st Va., was in the battles of 
Chancellorsville, May 2-^,, 1863; Winchester, June, 
1863, and Gettysburg, July 2, 3, 4, while F Company 
w^as absent recruiting. And F Company fought the 
battle of Williamsport, July 6, 1863, while the regiment 
was on its way from Gettysburg. 

The following members of F Company surrendered 
at Appomattox C. H., Apr. 9, 1865: 

Corporal H. C. Tyree, 

William R. Richeson, 

William Rutledge, 

Joseph T. Smith. 

The following old members of F Company belonging 
to other commands surrendered at Appomattox C. H. : 

Ira W. Blunt, Hospital Steward, 21st Va. Regt. 

George A. Haynes, Ordnance Sergeant, 21st Va. 
Regt. 



320 ONE OF TACKSOX'S FOOT CAVALRY 

Richard W. Waldrop, Commissary Sergeant, 2ist Va. 
Rcgt. 

John A. Craig. Hospital Steward, 2d Corps. 

Henry C. Bullington, Clerk, 3d Corps. 

William O. llarvie, Major, A. O. M., Army X. \'a. 

Philip B. Jones. Captain. A. O. M. 

Walter H. P. Morris, Lieutenant and A. D. C. 

William A. Piet. Second Co. Howitzers. 

Peter A. Sublctt, Second Co. Howitzers. 

George W. Petcrkin. h^irst Lieutenant and A. D. C. 

D. T. P.. Reeve. 

E. B. 'l^aylor. Sergeant Quarter-Master's Department. 
Robert f . Taylor, Major A. O. M. 

Robert C. \\'hite. 

Louis Zimmer, Captain Ordnance Department. 

Peter Lyons, Surgeon. 

H. D. Dan forth, Captain and A. D. C. 

The following were at Appomattox C. II.. but made 
their escape and were not included in the surrender: 

Thomas Ellett, Captain Artillery. 

James E. Tyler. I^rst Lieutenant .Artillery. 

William C. Barker. Second Lieutenant Artillery. 

They destroyed their guns. etc.. before leaving. 

J. Hamden Chamberlayne, Major of Artillery, made 
his escape and joined Gen. J. E. Johnston's Army. 

C. C. Baughman. Artillery, and Greer H. Baughman. 
Sergeant Artillery, made their escape and went to Gen. 
J. I*'.. Johnston's army, and thence to Gen. Kirby 
Smith's army. 

Lt.-Col. .Archer .Xndcrson. .Adjutnnt-Gencral of Gen. 
J. E. Johnston's army, surrendered with that army. 

Major John J. Reeve, Adjutant-Cieneral, also served 
with that army. 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 321 

Marches of F Company from the commencement to 
the close of the war : 

1 86 1. MILES 

Apr. 21. Marched to Wilton. Henrico Co. 12 
Apr. 22. Returned to Richmond on barges by 

James River. 
Apr. 24 Took the cars to Fredericksburg. 
May. Left Fredericksburg on the cars to Game 

Point. Stafford Co. 
June 14. Took cars for Richmond. 
July 18. Marched to Central R. R. depot 

and took cars for Staunton 4 

July 20. Marched to Buffalo Gap. Au- 
gusta Co 10 

July 21. To Ryans 11 

July 22. To McDowell. Highland Co 18 

July 23. To Monterey . 13 

July 24. To Forks of Road 15 

July 25. To Napp's Creek. Pocahontas Co. 13 

July 26. To Huntersville 8 

Aug. 3. To Edray 11 

Aug. 5. To Big Spring 17 

Aug. 6. To Valley Mountain 4 

Sept. 9. To Marshall's Store. Randolph 

Co 4 

Sept. 10. To Conrad's Store 5 

Sept. II. The 21st Va. Regt. w^ent on picket 

to the front 4 

Sept. 12. To Crouch's 2 

Sept. 15. Back to Conrad's Mill 6 

Sept. 16. To Marshall's Store 5 

Sept. 17. To Valley Mountain. Pocahontas 

Co 4 



322 ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

MILES 

Sept. 24. To Middle Mountain 2 

Sept. 25. To foot Middle Mountain 2 

Sept. 28. To Hogshead's 5 

Sept. 30. To Elk Mountain 5 

Oct. I. To top of Elk Mountain 3 

Oct. 9. To Edray 5 

Oct. 14. To Greenbrier Bridge 4 

Nov. II. To Harrold's farm 11 

Nov. 13. To Warm Springs. Bath Co. ... 22 

Nov. 14. To Bath Alum Springs 5 

Nov. 30. To ]\Iilboro 10 

Dec. 4. Took cars at Milboro and went to 

Staunton. Augusta Co. 
Dec. 18. Marched from Staunton to Mt. Sid- 
ney 13 

Dec. 19. To Harrisonburg. Rockingham Co. 16 

Dec. 20. To Cowan's farm 13 

Dec. 21. To ]\It. Jackson. Shenandoah Co. u 

Dec. 22. To Strasburg 24 

Dec. 25. To Newtown. Frederick Co 11 

Dec. 26. To through Winchester and camped 

on Romney Road 16 

1862. 

Jan. I. To Pughtown 12 

Jan. 2. To lingers X Roads. Morgan Co. 13 

Jan. 3. To near Bath 12 

Jan. 4. To Sir John's Run 5 

Jan. 5. Marched towards Hancock and Ca- 

I)on Bridge 1 1 

Jan. 8. Back to Ungers X Roads 18 

Jan. 9. To camp on side road 4 

Jan. 13. Marched about 200 yards; the head 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 323 

MILES 

of the column marched about 4 miles. 
Jan. 14. To Bloomery Furnace. Hampshire 

Co 8 

Jan. 15. To Capon Bridge 5 

Jan. 16. To Camp Meeting grounds 7 

Jan. 17. To near Romney 12 

Jan. 24. To Romney 3 

Feb. 3. To Deep Creek 10 

Feb. 4. To Hanging Rock 8 

Feb. 5. To Back Creek Valley. Frederick 

Co . 12 

Feb. 6. To near Winchester 9 

Feb. 27. To Berryville Road 5 

Mch. 7. To Strasburg Road 5 

Mch. II. To Springdale 4 

Mch. 12. To Cedar Creek 11 

Mch. 15. To Woodstock. Shenandoah Co. 15 

Mch. 19. To Mt. Jackson 11 

Mch. 20. To Rude's Hill 5 

Mch. 22. To Fisher's Hill 27 

Mch. 23. To Kernstown, where we fought 
the battle and back to Newtown. Frederick 

Co 26 

Mch. 24. To Woodstock. Shenandoah Co. 23 

Mch. 25. To Mt. Jackson 13 

Mch. 26. Back to Woodstock 11 

Mch. 28. Back to Mt. Jackson 11 

Apr. 3. To Edenburg and back to Mt. Jack- 
son 18 

Apr. 5. To Camp on Valley Pike 2 

Apr. 7. To below Mt. Jackson 7 

Apr. 10. Back to old camp 7 



324 ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 



Apr. 


13- 


Apr. 


I/- 


Apr. 


i<S. 


Apr. 


19. 


Apr. 


23- 


Apr. 


30- 



MILES 

To Liiray Road 4 

To Lacy's Spring. Rockingham Co. 10 

To Gordonsville Road 13 

To near Swift Run Gap u 

To Swift Run Gap 3 

Marclied across the Shenandoah 
River and recrossed, then marclied up the 

road towards Port Repubhc 12 

May I. To Clear Creek 6 

May 2. To Port Republic 8 

May 3. To White Hall, Albemarle Co., 

crossing the Blue Ridge at Brown's Gap ... 17 
May 4, To Meechums Depot ; there took 
cars for Staunton, Augusta Co., and marched 

through and beyond the town 14 

May 6. To Buffalo Gap 10 

May 7. To and across the Shenandoah 

Mountain 12 

May 8. To McDowell. Highland Co., where 

we fought the battle 11 

May 9. To Shenandoah Mt. and back to 

McDowell 13 

^^''^ 10. To Hilly Camp. Pendleton Co. .. 15 

To near Franklin 10 

r»ack to camp on McDowell road . . 5 

To Pine Hill. Highland Co 12 

To McDowell 8 

To Lebanon Springs. Augusta Co. 15 

To Mossy Creek. Rockingham Co. 12 

'J'o Davton 12 

To near New Market. Shenan- 

doali Co 15 



May 


1 1 


May 


12. 


May 


'3- 


May 


14. 


May 


15. 


May 


j;- 


May 


19- 


May 


20. 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 325 

MILES 

May 21. To camp on roadside, Page Co., 

crossing Massanutta Mt 13 

May 22. To Luray 14 

May 23. To Front Royal, Page Co., where 

we had a battle 27 

May 24-5. To Middletown, Frederick Co., 
where we had a battle, marching all night to 
near Winchester, where we had another bat- 
tle, and pursuing the enemy beyond that town 26 
May 28. My regiment marched into Win- 
chester and took charge of the prisoners ... 4 
May 31. To Cedar Creek, with prisoners ... 13 
June I. To Woodstock. Shenandoah Co. 14 

June 2. To Mt. Jackson 14 

June 3. To New Market 9 

June 4. To Harrisonburg. Rockingham Co. 14 

June 5. To New Hope. Augusta Co' 17 

June 6. To Waynesboro 12 

June 8. To and across the Blue Ridge at 

Rockfish Gap. Albemarle Co 6 

June 9. To North Garden Depot, O. & A. 

R. R 12 

June II. We took the cars here and carried 
our prisoners to Lynchburg Fair Ground. 

Campbell Co 2 

June 18. Left Lynchburg and rode on cars to 

near Charlottesville. Albemarle Co 2 

June 21. Marched to Charlottesville and 
joined our brigade as they marched through 

on their way to Richmond 9 

June 22. To Gordonsville. Orange Co. ... 13 
June 23. To Louisa C. H. Louisa Co 13 



326 OXE or JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

MILES 

June 24. Left Louisa C. H. and rode on cars 
to Bumpass Depot, and marched to camp . . 20 

June 25. To Ashland. Hanover Co 11 

June 26. To near Pole Green Church 15 

June ij. To near Cold Harbor, where we 

had the battle 11 

June 28. Marched to Bridge and back 3 

June 30. Crossed the Chickahominy River 
and marched to White Oak Swamp, where 

we fought the enemy. Henrico Co 11 

July I. To Malvern Hill, where we had the 

battle 6 

July 2. To Willis Church. Charles City 

Co 2 

July 4. To Forks of Road 2 

July 5. To Westover 7 

Jaly 8. To Creek 2 

July 9. To White Oak Swamp. Henrico 

Co 10 

July 10. To Seven Pines 8 

July II. To Morris I'^arm on Mcchanicsville 

Turnpike 10 

July 16. Marched tu Richmond, there took 
cars on R. F. & P. R. R. and went to Louisa 
C. H.. which we reached on the iSih, having 
been detained by damage to the bridge across 

South Anna River by high water 10 

July 20. To Gordonsville. Orange Co. ... 13 
July 22. To Liberty Mills. Madison Co. . . *S 
July 26. Marched on road to meet the enemy, 
who were reported advancing; not finding 
them, returned 10 



ONE OF JACKSON*S FOOT CAVALRY 327 

MILES 

July 29. To Mechanicsville. Louisa Co. ... 11 
Aug. 4. Back to Liberty Mills. Madison 

Co II 

Aug. 7. To Orange C. H. Orange Co. ... 13 

Aug. 8. To camp in Culpeper Co 7 

Aug. 9. To Cedar Run, where we had the 

battle 12 

Aug. 10. To camp near battlefield 3 

Aug. 13. To camp across the Rapidan river 

in Orange Co 16 

Aug. 14. To Terrell's Farm 16 

Aug. 16. To camp near Clark's Mountain . . 21 
Aug. 20. To Stevensburg. Culpeper Co. ... 12 

Aug. 21. To camp on road side 7 

Aug. 21. To Hazel River 11 

Aug. 23. To near Fauquier Springs. Fau- 
quier Co 13 

Aug. 24. To Jeffersonton i 

Aug. 25. To Salem 26 

Aug. 26. To Gainsville. Prince William Co. 26 

Aug. 27. To Manassas Junction 5 

Aug. 28. To' Groveton, where we fought the 

Second battle of Manassas 10 

Sept. I. To Bull Run 3 

Sept. 2. To Chantilly, Fairfax Co., where 

we had the battle 12 

Sept. 3. To camp on road side 2 

Sept. 4. To camp on road side. Loudoun 

Co 12 

Sept. 5. To Leesburg 11 

Sept. 6. To Three Springs, Montgomery 

Co., Md., crossing the Potomac at White 



328 ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

MILES 

Ford 15 

Sept. 7. To Frederick City. Frederick Co., 

Md .' 13 

Sept. 10. To Boonsboro. Washington Co., 

Md 14 

Sept. II. To North Mountain Depot, Berke- 
ley Co., Va., crossing the Potomac at Wil- 

hanisport 22 

Sept. 12. To Martinsburg 14 

Sept. 13. To Harper's Ferry, Jefferson Co., 

where we captured garrison, arms, etc 18 

Sept. 16. To Sharpsburg, Washington Co., 

Md., where we fought the battle, crossing the 

Potomac at Boteler's Ford 12 

Sept. 19. To camp in Jefferson Co., Va., 

crossing Potomac at Boteler's Ford 8 

Sept. 20. To Martinsburg. Berkeley Co. . . 20 

Sept. 21. To Bunker llill u 

Oct. 18. To Martinsburg, from there to the 

B. & O. R. R., tearing that up as we went . . 16 
Oct. 21. To Opeijuan Creek, un road leading 

to 1 iarper's h'erry 4 

Oct. 2}^. 'i^o liunker llill 10 

Oct. 28. To Summit Point 16 

Nov. I. To Opequan Creek, near Berry- 

ville. Clark Co 10 

Nov. 5. To near W hite Post 10 

Nov. 10. Throui^li Winchester to Romncy 

Road. Frederick Ci> 13 

Nov. 21. To Middletown u 

Nov. 22. 'i'o Woodstock. Shenandoah Co. iS 
Nov. 23. To Ml. jack.son 13 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 329 

MILES 

Nov. 24. To camp in Luray Valley, Page 
Co., crossing Massanutta Mt. at New Mar- 
ket 27, 

Nov. 25. To camp in Madison Co., crossing 

the Blue Ridge at Fisher's Gap 23 

Nov. 26. To Madison C. H 14 

Nov. 28. To Orange C. H. Orange Co. . . 14 
Nov. 29. To Union Church. Spottsylvania 

Co 12 

Nov. 30. To Wilderness 14 

Dec. I. To Dorgett's 15 

Dec. 2. To near Guinea's Station, Caroline 

Co 13 

Dec. IT. To Hamilton's Crossing, where we 

had the battle of Fredericksburg 7 

Dec. 17. To Moss Neck, where we w^ent into 

winter quarters 12 

To picket on the Rappahannock 
river, twice and back again 28 

1863. 

Jan. — F Company were ordered from this 
camp to Richmond to recruit. Marched to 
Guinea's, R. F. & P. R. R. ; there took cars 

for Richmond 10 

June 22. We marched from Camp Lee to Cen- 
tral R. R. and took cars for Staunton ; 

marched 4 

June 24. To Switcher's. Augusta Co 14 

June 25. To Harrisonburg. Rockingham Co. 1 1 

June 26. To Williams 15 

June 27. To Edenburg. Shenandoah Co. . . 17 
June 28. To Strasburg 18 



330 ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

MILES 

June 29. To Winchester. Frederick Co. . . 18 
lulv I. To Bunker Hill. Berkeley Co. ... 12 

July 2. To Fallino^ Waters 18 

July 3. To Potomac River, opposite Wil- 

liamsport 3 

July 5. Crossed the Potomac and marched 

east of Williamsport, Md i 

July 6. Battle of Williamsport i 

July 8. To Hagerstown 7 

July 9. Marched and met our regiment, and 
marched back through Hagerstown, with the 

Second Corps 7 

July 10. Formed line of battle near Hagers- 
town I 

July 13. The Second Corps left the line of 
battle during the night and forded the Poto- 
mac above Williamsport the morning of 14th 

and camped in Berkeley Co., Va 14 

July 15. To Darksville 10 

July 16. Back to and beyond Martinsburg .. 15 
July 17. To B. & O. R. R., where we went to 

work destroying it 6 

July 18. To camp near B. «!<: O. R. R 4 

July 19. To camp on the Oi)e(|uan 3 

Inly 20. To mill on Ronincy l\oa<l 7 

July 21. To Bunker Mill .'. S 

July 22. To Winchester. Frederick Co. ... 13 
July 23. To Manassas Gap, where we had 
some brisk skirmishing with the enemy. 

Warren Co 26 

July 24. To camj) on Ruray Road. Page Co. 16 
July 25. To camp near Luray 15 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 331 

MILES 

July 27. To Sperryville, Madison Co., cross- 
ing the Blue Ridge at Thornton's Gap 15 

July 28. To camp on road side 13 

July 29. To Robinson River 10 

July 31. To camp beyond Madison C. H. . . 6 

Aug. I. To Montpelier. Orange Co 15 

Aug. 14. To Liberty Mills. Madison Co. . . 4 

Aug. 16. To Montpelier. Orange Co 4 

Sept. 4. To Review field east of Orange C. 

H. and back agin to camp 12 

Sept. 19. To Morton's Ford 16 

Sept. 25. To Willis Ford 8 

Oct. 8. To Mt. Pisgah Church 20 

Oct. 9. To Madison Co. poorhouse 23 

Oct. 10. To camp on road side. Culpeper 

Co 17 

Oct. II. To Culpeper C. H 10 

Oct. 12. To Warrenton Springs. Fauquier 

Co 20 

Oct. 13. To Warrenton 7 

Oct. 14. To near Bristow Station, Prince 
William Co., where we formed line of battle 

onO. &A. R. R 15 

Oct. 16. To Bristow Station 4 

Oct. 18. To near Bealton Station. Fauquier 

Co 20 

Oct. 19. To camp in Culpeper Co 8 

Oct. 21. To camp near Brandy Station .... 4 
Oct. 26. To near Bealton Station. Fauquier 

Co 8 

Oct. 28. Back to camp in Culpeper Co 8 

Nov. 7. To Kelly's Ford and then to near 



33-' OXE OF JACKSOX'S FOOT CAVALRY 

MILES 

Culpcper C. H i8 

Nov. 8. To camp in Orange Co 15 

Nov. 9. To Morton's Ford 4 

Nov. 12. To Mt. Pisgah Church 8 

Nov. 18. To Wilhs Ford 12 

Nov. 26. To Bartley Mill 8 

Nov. 27. To Payne's F^'ami, where we fought 

the battle 7 

Nov. 28. To Mine Run, and formed line of 

battle to meet Meade 3 

Dec. 2. To Morton's Ford 5 

Dec. 3. To Raccoon Ford and back to Mor- 
ton's Ford 5 

Dec. 19. To Orange C. H 14 

Dec. 22. To Mt. Pisgah Church 6 

Dec. 24. To Crenshaw's farm near Mt. Pis- 
gah Church, where we went into winter 

quarters i 



1864. 



Jan. 5. To Morton's Ford S 

Jan. 10. To camp, Crenshaw farm 8 

Jan. ij. To Morton's Ford 8 

Feb. 2. To camp, Crenshaw farm 8 

Mch. 2. To Mine Run 8 

Mch. 3. To Chancellorsville and back t(j X 

Roads. Spottsylvania Co 16 

Mch. 4. To Chancellorsville 4 

Mch. 5. To camp, Crenshaw farm. Or- 
ange Co JO 

Mch. 17. T(j Morton's h'onl 10 

Apr. 26. To camp, Crenshaw farm 10 

May 2. Broke up Winter Quarters and 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 333 

MILES 

marched to Hartley's Mill 10 

May 4. To Locust Grove 10 

May 5. To Wilderness, where we fought 
the battle. Spottsylvania Co 5 

May 7. The Second Brigade moved to the 
extreme left of our line and back to its posi- 
tion on Stone Road 7 

May 8. To Spottsylvania C. H. by way of 
Todd's Tavern and the mill, and formed line 
of battle . , 15 

May 19. Marched in pursuit of the enemy 
and attacked him, and returned to our old po- 
sition in breastworks 10 

May 21. The enemy having left the front of 
the Second Corps, we marched to Telegraph 
Road. Caroline Co 15 

May 22. To Hanover Junction, Hanover Co., 
where we formed line of battle to meet Grant 12 

May 24. Marched to left of our line of battle 
and then to the right 6 

May 27. The enemy having left the front of 
Second Corps, wq marched to Atlee's Sta- 
tion, Central R. R., crossing the South Anna 
River on the bridge of that company 12 

May 28. To Pole Green Church, where we 
formed line of battle to meet Grant 16 

May 30. We marched to meet the enemy and 
attacked them near Bethesda Church 4 

May 31. Moved to the right 2 

June I. Moved to Dickerson house 2 

June 6. Marched after the enemy and re- 
turned : 3 



334 OXE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

MILES 

June 7. Marched after the enemy 3 

June 9. Marched to right and rear of our 

hne 2 

June 13. The Second Corps left Lee's hne 
and marched around Richmond to Three 
Chop Road, camping near Ground Squirrel 

Bridge. Louisa Co 26 

June 14. To Gardner's X Roads 25 

June 15. To iMechanicsville. Louisa Co. .. 22 

June 16. To Keswick Depot. All^emarle Co. 21 

June 17. The Second Brigade marched north 

of Keswick Depot and took the cars for 

Lynchburg. On reaching Lynchburg we 

marched beyond the Fair Grounds and 

formed hne of battle. Campbell Co 5 

June 19. To Lil>erty. Bedford Co 24 

June 20. To Bu ford's Gap 15 

June 21. To Salem. Roanoke Co 20 

June 23. To near Buchanan. Botetourt Co. 18 
June 24. To camp on road side in Rock- 
bridge Co., marching over the X'atural 

Bridge 20 

June 25. To near h'airfield, marching past 
the grave of Stonewall Jackson, in the Ceme- 
tery at Lexington 20 

June 26. To camp on road side. Augusta 

Co IC) 

June 27. To near Staunton 6 

June 2(S. To Mt. Crawford. Rockingham Co. 20 

June 29. To Lacey's Springs 16 

June 30. To Mt. Jackson. Shenandoah Co. 17 

July I. 'i^o camp on road side 20 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 335 

MILES 

July 2. To Middletown Mills. Frederick Co. 20 

July 3. To Martinsburg, Berkeley Co., 
where we captured many stores from the en- 
emy 25 

July 4. To X Roads 10 

July 5. To Antietam, Washington Co., 
Md., crossing the Potomac at Boteler's Ford 12 

July 6. Towards Harper's Ferry 4 

July 7. Drove the enemy into his fortifica- 
tions and at night marched to Norristown . . 8 

July 8. To Middletown, Md., Frederick 
Co., crossing the mountain at Fox Gap .... 10 

July 9. To Monacacy River, where we had 
the battle 15 

July 10. To camp beyond Clarksburg, Mont- 
gomery Co., Md 20 

July II. To Washington, D. C, city, where 
we have some fighting 15 

July 12. We left Washington during the 
night, marched to Darnestown, where we 
stopped about noon, and rested a few hours ; 
marched all night of the 13th, and crossed 
the Potomac at White's Ford and camped 
near Leesburg, Loudoun Co., Va., on the 14th 40 

July 15. 2 1 St Va. Regt. marched into Lees- 
burg and took charge of loose horses i 

July 16. We left Leesburg with the horses, 
marched and rode horseback to Millwood, 
Clarke Co., crossing the Blue Ridge at Paris 35 

July 17. Marched and rode horseback to 
Middletown, Frederick Co 20 

July 19. Marched to Winchester and joined 



336 ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

MILES 

our brigade 12 

July 20. To Middletown and then on picket 18 
July 21. To liupp's Hill, Shenandoah Co., 

where we formed line of battle 8 

July 24. To Kernstown, Frederick Co., 

where we had the battle, pursuing the enemy 

beyond Winchester. Frederick Co 20 

July 25. To Bunker Hill. Berkeley Co. ... 10 

July 26. To IMartinsburg 12 

July 31. To Darksville 8 

Aug. 4. To Shepherdstown. Jefferson Co. 12 
Aug. 5. To Sharpsburg, Md., crossing the 

Potomac at Boteler's Ford 8 

Aug. 6. To Falling Waters, Berkeley Co., 

Va., crossing the Potomac at Williamsport. 20 

Aug. 7. To Darksville 15 

Aug. 9. To Bunker Hill 6 

Aug. 10. To Woolen Mills. Frederick Co. 1 1 
Aug. II. To Newtown, where we skirmished 

with the enemy 12 

Aug. 12. To Strasburg, where we formed 

line of battle and then marched to Fisher's 

Hill. Shenandoah Co 15 

Aug. 17. To Winchester, encountering the 

enemy and driving them Ix^yond the town . . 20 

Aug. 19. To P>unker Hill 15 

Aug. 21. ^W) Charlestown. where we found 

the enemy strongly fortilied 12 

Aug. 22. The enemy left our front during the 

night and we followed 6 

Aug. 2;^. My brigade sent on picket 2 

Aug. 24. My brigade made a reconnoissance 5 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 337 

MILES 

Aug. 25. To near Shepherdstown, driving 

the enemy's cavalry ' 15 

Aug. 26. To Leetown 8 

Aug. 27. To Bunker Hill 13 

Aug. 29. To near Smithfield, driving the en- 
emy about five miles, then returned to Bun- 
ker Hill 18 

Sept. 2. To Charlestown Pike and back to 

Valley Pike 15 

Sept. 3. To Winchester 8 

Sept. 7. The enemy drove in our pickets ; we 
went to their support and drove the enemy 

beyond the Opequan 8 

Sept. 9. To near Brucetown 8 

Sept. 13. The enemy drove in our pickets ; we 
went to their support and drove the enemy 

beyond the Opequan 5 

Sept. 14. To camp on side road. Frederick 

Co 5 

Sept. 17. To Bunker Hill 5 

Sept. 18. To Martinsburg and back to Bun- 
ker Hill 24 

Sept. 19. To Winchester, where we had the 

battle 15 

Sept. 20. To Fisher's Hill 22 

Sept. 23. To Mt. Jackson 25 

Sept. 24 To Tenth Legion, where we took 

the road to Port Republic 17 

Sept. 25. To Brown's Gap 20 

Sept. 2y. To beyond the Shenandoah River, 

then back and to Port Republic 16 

Sept. 28. To Rockfish Gap, passing through 



338 ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

MILES 

New Hope and Waynesboro, driving the en- 
emy's cavalry from the latter place 20 

Oct. I. To Mt. Sidney 15 

Oct. 6. To camp on road side. Rocking- 
ham Co 15 

Oct. 7. To New Market 20 

Oct. 12. To camp near Woodstock 12 

Oct. 13. To Cedar Creek and back to Fish- 
ers Hill 17 

Oct. 17. To Hupp's Hill and back to Fisher's 

Hill 8 

Oct. 19. To Cedar Creek, where we had the 

battle, and back to Fisher's Hill 15 

Oct. 20. To near New Market 25 

Nov. 10. To Woodstock 15 

Nov. II. To Newtown 21 

Nov. 12. To Fisher's Hill 11 

Nov. 13. To Woodstock 12 

Nov. 14. To New Market 15 

Nov. 22. To Rude's Hill to meet the enemy 

and back 

Dec. 6, Gordon's division marched to 
Waynesboro, reach ine^ there on the 7th, 
where they took the cars for Petersburg, 
where they were in all the marches and en- 
gagements of the Second Corps at Petersburg 
and on the retreat to Appomattox C. H. 

Marching in the Following Counties: 

VIRGINIA 

Albemarle, Appomaltc^x, P>ath, 

Amelia, Augusta, Bedford, 



-D 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 339 



Berkeley, 

Botetourt, 

Campbell, 

Caroline, 

Charles City, 

Chesterfield, 

Clarke, 

Culpeper, 

Cumberland, 

Dinwiddie, 

Fairfax, 

Fauquier, 

Frederick, 

Green, 

Frederick, 



Goochland, 

Hampshire, 

Hanover, 

Henrico, 

Highland, 

Jefferson, 

Loudoun, 

Louisa, 

Madison, 

Morgan, 

Nelson, 

Orange, 

Page, 

Pendleton, 

MARYLAND 

Montgomery, 

and 

District of Columbi 



Pocahontas, 

Prince Edward, 

Prince George, 

Prince William, 

Rappahannock, 

Randolph, 

Roanoke, 

Rockbridge, 

Rockingham, 

Shenandoah, 

Spottsylvania, 

Stafford, 

Warren. 



Washington, 



a. 



XXXVIII 



CONCLUSION 



It is stated that the American Civil War was one of 
the bloodiest of which we liavc any authentic record; 
the carnage on both sides was fearful. On the Federal 
side: 4,142 officers were killed in battle; 2,221, died of 
woimds ; 248 met death by accident. Of the men 62,916 
were killed in battle, 40,789 died of wounds, 8,810 met 
death by accident (most of them by drowning). The 
deaths from disease were 2,712 officers and 197,008 men. 
On the Confederate side: 2,oS6 officers were killed and 
1,246 died of wounds; 50,868 men were killed and 20,324 
died of wounds. The war lasted about four years. 
The Federal army had enrolled 2,778,304 men, and the 
Confederates 600,000. 

Secretary Stanton made a report to Congress in which 
it appears that of all the prisoners in the hands of the 
Confederates during the four years, there died in all 
Confederate prisons 22,246; while of the Confederate 
prisoners held by the United States there died 26,576. 
The whole number of prisoners captured and held by the 
United States numbered 220,000, while the numl)er held 
by the Confederate States numbered 270,000. We are 
accused of ill-treatment of prisoners, starving, etc. ; these 
figures tell the truth as to that. We had more Federal 
pri.soncrs and the deaths were less by their own state- 
ment, and that statcnuMit prepared by one of their bit- 
terest partisans! 

340 



ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 341 

Here also is the truth about the exchange of prisoners, 
taken from a letter written by Gen. Grant: 

" City Point, Aug. 18, 1864. 
" To Gen'l Butler:— 

" On the subject of exchange, however, I differ from 
Gen. Hitchcock. It is hard on our men held in Southern 
prisons not to exchange them, but it is humanity to those 
left in the ranks to fight our battles. Every man released 
on parole, or otherwise, becomes an active soldier against 
us at once, either directly or indirectly. If we commence 
a system of exchange which liberates all prisoners taken, 
we will have to fight on until the whole South is extermin- 
ated. If we hold those caught, they amount to no more 
than dead men. At this particular time, to release all Rebel 
prisoners North would insure Sherman's defeat, and would 
compromise our safety here." 

I agree with Gen. William T. Sherman, who said, 
" War is Hell ! " and the private soldier of Lee's army, 
who did not see it, walked very close tO' the burning pit, 
and caught glimpses of the fiery furnace. 

In closing, I would like to add my little meed of praise. 
Where in all pages of history can you find greater deeds 
of heroism than those exhibited in the Southern army? 

Here is what Lt.-Gen. Early says in his " Memoirs of 
the Last Year of the War for Independence in the Con- 
federate States of America" : 

" I believe the world has never produced a body of men 
superior, in courage, patrotism, and endurance, to the pri- 
vate soldiers of the Confederate armies. I have repeatedly 
seen those soldiers submit with cheerfulness, to privations 
and hardships which would appear to be almost incredible ; 
and the wild cheers of our brave men (which were so dif- 



34-3 ONE OF JACKSON'S FOOT CAVALRY 

ferent from the studied hurrahs of the Yankees) when their 
lines sent back the opposing host of Federal troops, stag- 
gering, reeling, and flying, have often thrilled every fibre in 
my heart. I have seen, with my own eyes, ragged, bare- 
footed, and hungry Confederate soldiers perform deeds, 
which, if performed in days of yore, by mailed warriors 
in glittering armor, would have inspired the harp of the 
minstrel and the pen of the poet." 

" A King once said of a Prince struck down, 
* Taller he seems in death ! ' 
And this speech holds truth, for now, as then, 
'Tis after death that we measure men ; 
And as mists of the past are rolled away, 
( )ur heroes who died in their tattered gray 
Grow ' taller ' and greater in all their parts ; 
Till they fill our minds, as they fill our hearts ; 
And for those who lament them there's this relief. 
That glory sits by the side of grief. 
Yes, they grow ' taller ' as the years go by, 
And the world learns how they could do and die." 







1865 



Opposite page 342. 



INDEX 



INDEX 



Alabamian, A lone, 215. 
Amelia, C H., 282. 
Anderson, Archer, 19, 30, 303. 
Anderson, Henry V,, 19, 30, 

115, 303- 
Anderson, Joseph H'., 162, 225, 

303- 
Anderson, Junius H., 19, 30, 

303- 

Anderson, General, 100-250,251. 

Anderson, Major; Officer of the 
day at Spottsylvania C. H., 
May 1 1- 12, 1864, 219. 

Archer, William S., 19, 23, 30, 
162, 303. 

Arms, Take ! 236. 

April 3, 1865, 286. 

Artillery Men, charge the enemy 
on their lead horses, 87. 

Artillery, one piece of the ene- 
mies hurry Early's wagon 
train, 263. 

Ashby, General Turner, 59, 66, 
71, 72, 91, 95. 

Ashby's, General ; Horse at the 
bridge at Mt. Jackson, 91. 

Aquia Creek, 16, 25. 

Averill, General, 244. 

Ayers, Edward W., 19, 20, 303. 

"B." Company, Flag presenta- 
tion, 36, 83. 

Baltimore & Ohio Rail Road, 
Tearing it up, 149, 248. 

Banks, General, 88. 

Barker, William C, 19, 23, 30, 
303. 



Baskerville, Commissary H. E. 

C, 36. 
Barber, N., 162, 303. 
Bates, Edward, 163, 303. 
Bates, W., 162, 282, 303. 
Bath Alum Springs, Camp at, 

Si- 
Bath, Battle of, 57. 
Baughman, Charles C, 19, 30, 

303. 
Baughman, George C, 19, S3, 

303. 
Baughman, Greer H., 19, 30, 304. 
Beers, Henry H., 19, 23, 30,304. 
Bethesda Church, Battle of, 224. 
Berkeley, Lieut. Colonel, 163. 
Bible, The, 27, 28. 
Binford, James M., 19, 23, 30, 

304. 
Binford, Robert E., 19, 23, 30, 

304- 
Bloody Angle, 183. 
Blunt, Ira W., 19, 30, 304. 
Booker, Lieutenant John A., 

147- 
Boonsboro, 139. 
Bowe, H. C, i62f, 304. 
Boyd, James N., 304. 
Breckenbridge, General, 234, 

241. 
Bridge of wagons, 81, 92. 
Bridges, Jr., David B., 19, 30, 

304. 
Bridges, Richard M., 19, 23, 30, 

304. 
Broad Run, 183. 
Brock, R. Alonzo, 19, 30, 304. 



345 



346 



INDEX 



Brown, A. D., 162, 282, 304. 
Brown, A. H., 162, 304. 
Brown, George W., 162, 206, 

304- 
Brown, Henry, 162, 304. 
Brown, James R., 162, 304. 
Buford, General, 173. 
Bullington, Henry N., 19, 23, 

30. 304- 
Burnside, General, 151. 
Buttons, Brass buttons cut off 

Confederate uniforms, 293. 

Cabell, J. Caskie, 19, 305. 

Callis, G.. 162, 303. 

Canby, General, 289. 

Cannon, Hurrah ! they are ours, 
202. 

Cars and Locomotives, Cap- 
tured and saved at Mar- 
tinsburg, 65. 

Campbell, Colonel, 86. 

Cary, Captain R. Milton, 19, 23, 
26, 27. 301. 

Cedar Creek. Battle of, 275- 

Cedar Run. Battle of. 108. 

Chambcrlaync, J. Hampden, 19, 

23, 33, 305- 
Chancellorsvillc, Battle of, 173. 
Chantilly. Battle of, 136. 
Chapman, Isaac W., 19, 23, 30, 

305. 
Charleston, Skirmish at, 250. 
Cheering, No, 165. 
Child, Jesse, 19. 23. 26, 30, 305- 
Clarke, Maxwell T., 19, 23, 30, 

305- 
Clopton. Dr. John, 19, 33, 305. 
Close Up. 157. 

Cocke, Lorenzo G.. 19, 30, 306. 
Cold Harbor, Battle of, 225. 
Cole. Addison C, 19. 23. 30, 306. 
Cocks, Game, carried in the 

army, 75. 



Coleman, N., 162, 306. 
Coleman, Surgeon R. L., 36. 
Color Bearer, One arm, 179. 
Colors of the 2ist Va. Regt. 

284. 
Communications, Attack on 

Grant in the Wilderness, 

205. 
Conclusion, 341. 

Congress, Confederate States, 70. 
Confederate Soldier, His poverty, 

276. 
Conrad's Mill, Skirmish at, 44. 
Coolest thing of the war, 217. 
Cooks, Negro, 199. 
Cooks, Negro, in battle, 197. 
Couch, L. M., 162, 206, 277, 306. 
Cowardin, John L., 19, 306. 
Craig, John A., 19, 30, 306. 
Crenshaw, Lieutenant James R., 

26, 301. 
Crook, General, 244, 265. 
Cross Keys, Battle of, 91. 
Cumbia, W. S., 162, 306. 
Cumbia, W. E., 163, 212, 306. 
Cunningham, Surgeon Frank B., 

21. 317. 
Cunningham, Lieut. Richard H., 

19, 26. 
Cunningham, Captain and Colo- 
nel, 30, 75, 78, 94, 100, 112, 
113. 301. 

Dabncy, Major says about the 
Second Brigade in the bat- 
tle of Cedar Run, 116. 

Dabncy, Virginius, Sergeant 
Major, 36. 

Danforth, Henry D., 19, 23, 30, 
306. 

Daniel. General, 226. 

Davis Brigade, 213. 

Davis, President Jefferson, 36, 
99, 100. 



INDEX 



347 



Dill Jr., Adolph, 19, 30, 306. 
Dillard, R. H., 162, 306. 
Divers, W. H., 162, 249, 306. 
Doggett, Francis W., 19, 30, 306. 
Doles Brigade, 211, 226. 
Dowdy, Nathaniel A., 162, 206, 

265, 282, 306. 
Dungan, Colonel, 246. 
Dunker or Tunker Church, 143, 

146, 147, 248. 

Early, General, 146, 225, 234, 
:242, 251, 258, 279. 

Early, Breckenbridge and Gor- 
don, Generals, 260. 

Earlys, Tribute to the Confed- 
erate Soldier, 342. 

Edmunds, W. B., 220, 307. 

Elk Mountain, 47. 

Ellett, Thomas, 19, 23, 26, 30, 
158, 302. 

Ellett, Robert, 19, 23, 31, 307. 

Ellerson, Jock H., 19, 23, 33, 

307. 
English, J. C, 265, 307. 
Etting, Samuel M., 19, 23, 33, 

307. 
Equipment of the army in the 

beginning of the war, 106. 
Evans Brigade, 223. 
Evans, Randall, The colored 

cook of Winchester, 63. 
Evacuation of Richmond, 285. 
Ewell, General Richard S., 81, 

82, 90, no, 119, 126, 174, 

176, 200, 225. 
Exall, Charles H"., 19, 23, 31, 307. 
Exall, William, 19, 23, 31, 57, 

307. 
Execution of three Confederate 
soldiers, 191. 

F. Company, 13, 25, 27, 37, 38, 
39, 57, 114, 145. 
Battles, 318. 



Canteens, 14. 
Casualties, 317. 
Knapsacks, 14. 
Marches, 321. 

F. Company, Muster Roll, 28. 

Mustered into service, 28. 

Ordered to Richmond to re- 
cruit, 161. 

Promotions, 317. 

Spends the day in Richmond, 
July 12, 186:2, 105. 

Surrendered at Appomattox 
C. H., Who, 319- 

The best fight of the war, 173. 

Transferred to other com- 
mands, 317. 

Uniform, 13. 

Zouave Drill, 25. 
Field, William G., 19, 307. 
Fifth Va. Regt. Inft., 68. 
Fiftieth Va. Regt. Inft., I55- 
Fight, I did not want to, in. 
Fisher's Gap, 150. 
Fisher's Hill, Battle of, 264. 
Fist Fight, Yankee and Confed- 
erate at the! Wilderness, 203. 
Floyd, Geo. J., 162, 307. 
Ford the river at Front Royal. 

They did not see us, 207. 
Fontaine, R. Morris, 19, 31, 307. 
Fort Steadman, Battle of, 282. 
Forty-eighth, Regt. Va. Inft., 55. 
Forty-second, Va. Regt. Inft., 55. 
Forward, 200. 

Forward, Double Quick ! 170. 
Forty-fourth, Va. Regt. of Inft., 

155- 
Fourth of July, Picnic, 233. 
Fox, Henry C, 162, 241, 28^, 307. 
Families leaving their homes, 54, 

55. 
Franklin Pendleton Co., Va., 80. 
Frederick City, 138. 



348 



INDEX 



Fredericksburg, i6, Battle of, 

149- 
Freeniont, General, 89, 90, 93. 
Front Royal, Battle of, 82. 

Game Point, Camp, 22. 
Garnett, Colonel, 40. 
Gentry, John W., 19, 31, 307. 
Gentry, M. G., 162, 307. 
Georgian, The littler, 171. 
Gettysburg. Battle of, 173. 
Gibson, William T., 19, 31, 308. 
Gilham, Colonel William, 36, 45, 

55, 60. 
Gilliam, Robert H., 19, 31, 115, 

308. 
Gordon, General John B., 214, 

215, 223, 228, 236, 241, 256. 
Gordon fought his corps to a 

frazzel, 283. 
Gordon, Ramsuer and Rodes, 

Division leave General Early 

for Petersburg, 278. 
Gouldman, E., 162, 308. 
Grant, General, 199, 200, 205, 224. 
Gray, W. Granville, 19, 23, 31, 

52, 56, 75, 306. 
Gray, Somcrvillc, 19, 31, 306. 
Green, John W., 19, 31, 308. 
Green, Thomas R.. 19, 308. 
Gregg, General, killed, 154. 
Griffin, J., 162, 308. 
Grigsby, Colonel, 86, 144. 147. 
Guerrillas of the 21st., 145. 
Guns! Halt, load your, 200. 
Gunboats at Aquia Creek, 24. 

Ilalltnwn, Skirmishing at, 250. 
Hampton, (icncral, 229. 
Hancock, General, 211. 
Hanover Junction, Battle of, 222. 
Hamilton's Crossing, Battle of, 

152. 
Harj)cr's I'\'rry Captured, 140. 



Harrison, Thomas R., 19, 23, 

308. 
Harvie, William O., 19. 308. 
Hawkins, L. A., 162, 308. 
Hatchers Run, Battle of, 280. 
Haynes, Geo. A., 20, 23, 31, 309. 
Hays, General, 226. 
"Hell broke loose now," 259. 
"Hell Spot," 113. 
Here they come, 129, 131. 
Henry, Dr. Patrick, 20, 31, 309. 
Hill, General A. P., 98, 102, 108, 

127, 131, 143, 147, 148, 182. 
Hill, General D. ?I., 99. 
Hobson, Deane, 20, 23, 33, 309. 
Hostilities, The commencement, 

13- 
Houston, George W., 162, 265, 

309- 
Howitzers, Richmond, 15, 211. 
Hudgens, Malcolm L., 20, 31, 

145, 162, 277, 309. 
Hull. Irving, 20, 309. 
Hunter, General. 229. 
"Hurry up. Boys," 238. 

"It is Longstreet." 130. 
Irish Battalion, 55, 155. 

Jackson's Division takes a bath, 

104. 
Jackson's Division captured at 

Spottsylvania C. H., 213. 
Jackson, Stonewall, 53, 54. 57, 

50. 6^, 66. 68. 74. 76, 82, 86, 

95. 112, 123, 147, 152. 
Jackson Lieut. General, 164. 
Jenkins. William S.. 20, 300. 
Johnson, Captain of the 50th, a 

gallant deed, 188. 
Johnson, Colonel Bradley T., 

122, 128. 139, 186. 
Johnson, General Edward, y;, 

174, 226. 



INDEX 



349 



Johnston, J. W., 162, 309. 
Johnston, General R. D., 226. 
Jones, David B., 20, 23, 31, 309. 
Jones, General J. M., 174, 206. 
Jones, General J. R., 155. 
Jones, Jr., Phillip B., 20, 31, 309. 
Jordan, Reuben J., 20, 31, 145, 

162, 225, 280, 281, 301. 
Julip, Second Corps treated to 

brandy, 230. 

Kayton, P. W., 162, 309. 
Kelley, Major A. D., 163, 309. 
Kellogg, Timothy H., 20, 31, z^, 

309. 
Kernstown, Battle of, 66. 
Kenistown, Second Battle of, 

245. 
Kershaw, General, 275. 
Kidd, J. A., 162, 282, 309. 
King, Shirley, 19, 23, 26, 30, 303. 

Lee, General R. E., 42, 45, 99, 
100, 147, 164, 176, 180, 214, 

299. 

Lee, Gen, R. E., His wife and 
daughters knitting socks for 
the men of his army, 298. 

Lee, Gen. R. E., Shaking hands 
with an old private, 300. 

Lee, General R. E., "To the 
Rear," 214. 

Lee Camp, 28. 

Lee, General Fitz, 257. 

Leetown, Skirmishing with the 
enemy's cavalry at, 251. 

Legg, A. C, 163, 206, 309. 

Lewis, Assistant Surgeon, Rich- 
mond, 36. 

Lindsay, Roswell S., 20, 23, 31, 

113, 310- 
Longstreet, General, 98, 102, 131. 

Lorentz , 20, 310. 

Loring, General, 41, 43, 44. 



Lynchburg, Battle of, 227. 
Lyon, Assistant Surgeon, Peter, 
21, 317. 

McCausland, General, 230. 
McClellan, General, 97, 10^, 144. 
McDowell, Battle of, 77. 
McDowell, General, 89, 97. 
McEvoy, Charles A., 20, 2)2>, 310. 
McLaws, General, 146. 
Macmurdo, Richard C, 20, 31, 

310. 
Maddox, R. G., 20, 310. 
Magruder, General, 102. 
Mail for the soldiers, 158. 
Malvern Hill, Battle of, 103. 
Man sleeping on Post, 42. 
Manassas, Battle of, 40. 
Manassas, Second Battle of, 118. 
Manassas Second, The first shot, 

122. 
Manassas Junction, Capture of, 
and the great time Jackson's 
Corps had their, 119, 120, 
121. 
Mason, J. M., 162, 277, 310. 
Martinsburg, Captured, 231. 
Maryland, Campaign, 136. 
Mayo, Edward, 19, 23, 26, 30, 

46, 52, 302. 
Mayo, Joseph E.. 20, 31, 51, 310. 
Meade Everard B., 20, 31, 310. 
Mebane, J. A., 20, 23, 31, 310. 
Medicine for the soldiers, 160. 
Mercer, Camp, 18. 
Meredith, John F., 20, 2,3, 310. 
Merriman, J. T., 162, 310. 
Middle Mountain, 45. 
Milboro, Camp, 52. 
Miller, Henry T., 19, 26, 30, 52, 

56, 302. 
Middletown, Battle of, 83. 
Mitchell, Samuel D., 20, 2t„ 31, 
310. 



350 



INDEX 



Mittledorfer, Charles, 20, 31, 310. 

Montpelier, Camp, 176. 

Mine Run, Battle of, 186. 

Monocacy, Battle of, 235. 

Morgan, Captain William H., 36, 
75, III, 301. 

Morris Farm, Camp, 105, 107. 

Morris, Walter H. P., 20, 31, 
310. 

Moseley, Major John B., 75. 163. 

Most-lev. Lieutenant Colonel 
William P., 163. 

Moss Neck, Camp, Winter Quar- 
ters, 1863-64, 155. 

Mountcastle, John R., 20, 23, 31, 
310. 

Munt, Henry F., 162, 310. 

Nance, J. L., 162, 311. 
Needle Case, The, 27. 
"No whar was safe," 173. 
Norwood, Jr., William, 20, 31, 

311- 
Nunnally, Joseph N., 20, 23, 31, 
70, 115, 311. 

"Old Jack" flanked his own men, 
74. 

Pace, George R., 20, 23. 26, 30, 

311. 
Pace, Theodore A., 20, 32, 311. 
Page, Captain, 145, 147. 
Page, Mann, 20, 31, 246, 311. 
Pardigon, C. F., 20, 311. 
» Patton, Colonel John M., 36, 67, 

75, 86. 163. 
Pawnee, The gunboat, 15, 16. 24. 
Paynes Farm, Battle of, 186. 
Payne, James B., 20, 31, 56, 58, 

311. 
Pcgram, William A., 20, 31, 162, 

170, 172, 301. 
Pcgram. William R. J., 20, 21, 

311- 



Peaster, Henry, 20, 32, 311. 

Pegram, General John, 226. 

Pclham, Major, 153. 

Pendleton, Colonel A. S.. Ad- 
jutant General, Second 
Corps, 264. 

Peterkin, George W., 20, 23, 32, 
75, 312. 

Picket Duty, 22, 45, 46, 48, 154. 

Picot, Henry V., 20, 31, 70, 312. 

Piet, William A., 20, 23, 14, 312. 

Pilcher, Samuel F., 21, 312. 

Pizzini. John A., 19, 23, 26, 30, 
302. 

Pole Green Church, 98. 

Pollard, William G., 20, 32, 115, 
312. 

Pope, General, 108, 117. 

Port Republic, Battle of, 92. 

Potomac River, Crossing first 
time. 137. 

Powell, John G., 20, 31, 115, 312. 

Powell, John W., 20. 23, 312. 

Price, Channing R., 20, 312. 

Prayer in Camp, 22. 

President and Vice-President of 
Confederates States Elec- 
tion, 48. 

Prisoners, The Exchange of, t,^^ 

Punishment of soldiers, 21. 

Purcell Battery, 21, 24. 

Ramsuer, General, 225, 25S. 
Randolph, J. Tucker, 20. 26, 30, 

6g. 224, 312. 
Randolph, M. Lewis, 20, 26, 33, 

312. 
Rawlings Edward G., 19. 23, 26, 

30, 75. 132, 302. 
Rations for the soldiers, 195. 
Redd, Clarance M., 20, 23. 32, 

115. 3^3 
Reeve. David I. B.. 20. 23. 32, 

313- 



INDEX 



351 



Reeve, John J., 20, 23, 32, 313. 
Religious Revival, The great, 

181. 
Reconnoitering by Gen. J. E. B. 

Stuart at Cedar Run, 116. 
Reorganization of the army, 74. 
Rennie, G. Hutchinson, 20, 32, 

2^2, 313. 
Retreat, The, from Petersburg, 

282. 
Retreating and Advancing at the 

same time, 76. 
Returning home, 292. 
Review of the Second Corps, 

179. 
Richeson, P. S., 162, 220, 313. 
Richeson, William R., 162, 281, 

313- 
Richmond Light Infantry Blues, 

16. 
Richmond, Getting out of, 152. 
Rison, John W., 20, 313. 
Rockbridge Battery, 6y, 86. 
Robertson, William S., 20, 32, 

313. 
Robinson, Christopher A., 20, 3^, 

313- 
Robinson, Richard R, 20, t,2, 313. 
Robinson, Edward T., 26, 302. 
Rodes, General, 217, 242, 258. 
Rosser, General, 275. 
Route Step, On a March, 158. 
Rudes Hill, 66, 72. 
Rutledge, William, 162, 313. 



Sailor's Creek, Battle of, 283. 
Savage Station, Battle of, 102. 
Searles, S., 162, 313. 
Seay, M., 163, 313. 
Seay, W. C, 163, 220, 314. 
Second Army Corps, 280. 
Second Army Corps, The Re- 
turns, Aug., 1864, 259. 



Second Brigade, Jackson's Divi- 
sion, 55, 99, no, 113, 122, 
144, 200, 237. 

Second Regt. Va. Inft, 89. 

Seven Days, Campaign, 97. 

Sharpsburg, Battle of, 130, 144. 

Shebang, How to make, 150. 

Sheets, Captain, 83. 

Shipps, Major Scott, 36, 55. 

Shields, General, 89, 90, 91, 92, 

93. 

Shoes, Soldiers without, 151. 
Simpson, F. J., 163, 314. 
Singleton, A. Jackson, 20, 32, 

314. 
Signal for troops to meet in 

Richmond at commencement 

of war, 14. 
Sizer, Milton D., 20, 32, 314. 
Skinker, Charles R., 20, 32, 70, 

314. 
Sheridan's Raid, 220. 
Sheridan's Fight at Trevillian's 

Depot, 228, 
Sheridan, General, 256, 265. 
Smith, Edward H., 20, 23, 32, 

314- 
Smith, Henry, 163, 206, 314. 
Smith, J. T., 163, 314. 
Smith, Thomas, 163, 314. 
Snow and hail, 59, 60, 6r, 62. 
Soap, Making in camp, 176. 
Soles, Peter D., 163, 314. 
Spottsylvania C. H., Battle of, 

206. 
Starke, General, 130, 134, 144. 
Stark's Louisiana Brigade, 117, 

130, 134, 144. 
Stafford, General, 108, 206, 226. 
Stonewall Brigade, 86, 89, 90, 

99, 114, 144, 211. 
Stewart, General George H., 210, 

220. 
Strasburg, 71, 89. 



352 



INDEX 



Streams crossed on the ice, 6i. 
Strongest point I saw during the 

war, 100. 
Stuart, General J. K. B., 98, 116, 

146. 
Suhlett. Peter A.. 20. 32, 314. 
Surrender, The, of Lee's Army, 

290. 

Tahh, Robert M., 20, z^^ 277,314. 
Talley, Daniel D., 20, 23, 32, 315. 
Taliaferro, General. 126. 
Tatum, A. Randolph, 20, 23, 32, 

315. 
Tatum, Vivian IT., 10, 32. 315. 
Taylnr, General Richard, 81, 86. 
Taylor, Charles E., 20, 2>^, 70, 

315- 
Taylor Clarence E., 20, 2)^, 115, 

315- 
Taylor, Edward B., 20, 32, 70, 

315. 
Taylor, Robert T., 20, 23, 32, 

315- 
Terry, General William, 223, 

258. 
Terry's Brigade, 223. 258. 
Tiney. W. C, 162, 172, 315. 
Thrilling Scene, 252. 
Third Brigade, Jackson Divison, 

99, 114, 144, 201. 
Tompkins, Edward G., 20, 23, 32, 

115. 315. 
Trainum, Charles, 163, 315. 
Trees, shot to pieces by musket 

balls, 216. 
Trimble. General, 92, 94. 155. 
Twenty-fifth Va. Reg. of In ft., 

176, 205. 
Twenty-first Va. Reg. of Tnft., 

36. y7, 3?^. 55. «\ 78. «8. 

114, 181, 200, 201, 202, 209, 

260. 
Tyler, James E., 20, z^, 315 



Tyler. John, 19, 23, 26. 30, 302. 
Tyler, R. Emmett, 20. 23, 32.315, 
Tyree, William C, 163, 277, 316, 

Umbrella man, The, 75. 
U. S. branded on nearly all our 
horses and mules, 106. 

Valley Campaign, 82. 

Valley of Virginia. 53. 

Valley of Virginia, made a 

wilderness by Sheridan, 278, 

279. 
Valley Mountain. 44. 
VanBurcn, Benjamin B., 20. }^2, 

3i^>. 
Virginia Military Institute 

burned, 231. 
Virginia Penitentiary, fire, July 

I, 1861, 35. 

Wagon trains, captured of en- 
emy, 84. 

Waldrop, Richard W., 20, 2^2, 
316. 

Walker, General, 218, 220. 226. 

Walker, T., 162, 172, 316. 

Wallace, General, 241. 

Wallace. R. II.. 163. 316. 

Wash, Major Meret C, 7th In- 
diana Inft., 201. 

Washington, D. C, Battle of. 
242. 

War is Hell, 342. 

Watkins, Aurelius S., 20, 2^2, 
316. 

Watkins, II. Harrison, 20, 23, 
Z2, 115, 316. 

Welford, Lieutenant Phillip A., 
19, :?3. 26. 30, 52, 302. 

White Oak Swamp, Battle of, 
103. 

White. Rol)ort C, 20, 23, 32,316. 

Whiting, General, 97. 



INDEX 



353 



Wilkins, J. M., 163, 316. 
Williamsport, Battle of, 166. 
Willis, Joseph N., 20, 32, 316. 
Wilton, Our first march of the 

war, 15. 
Widows and orphans of soldiers, 

184. 
Winder, General, 115. 
Winchester, 64, 86, 174, 249. 
Winchester, Battle of, 256. 
Winchester, Battle of, what 

brought it on, 265. 
Wise, Governor H. A., 26, 
Winter Campaign, 57, 
Winter quarters, 1863-4, 184. 
Witcher, Colonel W. A., 163, 

220. 
Woman's apparel in captured 

Yankee wagons, 84. 
Women of the South, 296. 
Woods on fire, our march 

through, 208, 
Wood, S. E., 163, 316. 
Worsham, John H., 2'i, 32, 145, 

162, 254, 316. 



Worsham, Thomas R., 21, 32, 
316. 

Wren, J. Porter, 21, 23, 32, 115, 
162, 240, 317. 

Wright, General, 211. 

Wright, Miss Rebecca, The Yan- 
kee Spy, 265. 

Wright, Phillip B., 21, 317. 

Wyndham, Sir Percy, The 
"English" Yankee, 95. 

Yankee, First to arrive in Rich- 
mond, 287. 

The first flag hoisted in Rich- 
mond, 287. 

One of them knocked down 
with flagstaff, 113. 

Nearest point they got to 
Richmond, 221. 

Prisoners, 88, 94, 96. 
An amusing scene, 89. 
York, General, 223, 258. 

Zimmer, Lewis, 21, 23, 317, 






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